Univ»r 


[HE  ]  IBRARY 


[HE  UNIVERSITY 


OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 


THE  HONNOLD  LIBRARY 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION. 


REVERE'S  RIDE." — Page  21 


HEROES 


OF  OUR 


REVOLUTION 


B 
T.  Wi^ 


HALL 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 

W.  B.   GILBERT 
And  Others 


NEW   YORK 

FREDERICK   A.  STOKES   COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT,  1900,  BY 
FREDERICK   A.  STOKES  COMPANY 


TO 
OUR  BOYS  AND  GIRLS. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Causes  of '  the  Revolution — Our  Debt  to  the  Christian 
Church — The-  Sons  of  Liberty — The  Boston  Massacre — 
Sam  Adams'  Regiment — The  Boston  Tea  Party— Patrick 
Henry i 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Boston  Port  Bill — General  Gage — The  First  Continental 
Congress — "The  Minute-men" — Joseph  Warren — Paul 
Revere — Lexington  and  Concord 17 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Country  Rises — John  Stark  and  Israel  Putnam — The 
Battle  of  Bunker  Hill — Death  of  Warren — Washington 
Appointed  Commander-in-Chief — His  Subordinate  Gen- 
erals— The  Siege  of  Boston 28 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Benedict  Arnold — His  Troubles  with  Allen — Invasion  of 
Canada — Terrible  March  Through  the  Wilderness. 50 

CHAPTER  V. 

Schuyler   and  Montgomery — Montgomery's  Capture  of  St. 

John's — The  Storming  of  Quebec 61 

V 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Preparations  for  the  Defence  of  New  York — Lee  and 
Meultrie — The  little  of  Fort  Moultrie 74 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Battle  of  Long  Island 87 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Retreat  from  New  York — Arrival  of  Lee — The  Battle 
of  White  Plains — Defences  of  the  Highlands  of  the  Hud- 
son— Preparations  for  the  Defence  of  New  Jersey 97 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Capture  of  Fort  Washington — Washington's  Brilliant 
Retreat  Through  the  Jerseys — The  Schemes  and  Capture 
of  Lee — The  Storming  of  Fort  Washington 112 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton 1 24 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Arnold's  Battle  on  Lake  Champlain — European  Volunteers 
— Promotions — Arnold's  Disappointment — Tryon  at  Dan- 
bury — Meigs  at  Sag  Harbor 141 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Howe  Leaves  the  Jerseys — Murder  of  Miss  McCrea — Siege 
of  Fort  Stanwix — Battle  of  Oriskany — Battle  of  Benning- 
ton 1 53 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Two  Battles  of  Bemis  Heights — Surrender  of  Bur- 
goyne — First  Battle  of  Bemis  Heights 166 


CONTENTS.  vii 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Capture  of  General  Prescott — The  Movements  of  General 
Howe — Battle  of  the  Brandywine 177 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Surprise  and  Defeat  of  Wayne — Howe  Takes  Philadelphia 
— The  Battle  of  Germantown 191 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Successful  Defence  of  Forts  Mercer  and  Mifflin — Capture  of 
Forts  Montgomery  and  Clinton — The  Conway  Cabal — 
Capture  of  Forts  Mercer  and  Mifflin — Gates  at  the  head  of 
the  Board  of  War 202 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Exposure  of  the  Conway  Cabal — Consternation  of  Gates — 
Steuben  at  Valley  Forge — Downfall  of  Conway — The  sign- 
ing of  the  Treaty  with  France — Howe  Superseded  by 
Clinton — The  Mischianza 214 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Evacuation  of  Philadelphia — The  Battle  of  Monmouth 
Clinton's  Retreat  to  New  York — Court-Martial  of  General 
Lee 224 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Tardy  Arrival  of  the  French  Fleet — Expedition  Against  New- 
port— The  Fleets  Dispersed  by  a  Storm — Sullivan's  Dis- 
appointment and  Retreat — The  Wyoming  Valley  Mas- 
sacre— Murder  and  pillage  by  the  British 235 

CHAPTER  XX. 

The  British  in  Florida  and  Georgia — Storming  of  Stony 
Point — Sullivan's  Expedition  Against  the  Wyoming  Valley 
Murderers — Further  Marauds — Siege  and  Surrender  of 
Charleston — Marauds  of  Tarleton  and  Ferguson 243 


viii  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER     XXI. 

Arnold's  Difficulties — His  Marriage — Investigated  by  a  Com- 
mittee of  Congress — Court-Martialed — His  Treasonable 
Correspondence  with  Clinton — Arnold  and  Andre — Cap- 
ture of  Andre  and  Flight  of  Arnold — Execution  of  Andre 
— Story  of  Nathan  Hale 252 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Knyphausen's  Invasion  of  New  Jersey — The  Murder  of 
Mrs.  Caldwell — Knyphausen's  Second  Attempt — Gates 
Appointed  to  Command  the  Southern  Army — Sumterand 
Marion — The  Battle  of  Camden 263 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Cornwallis'  Advance  into  North  Carolina — The  Battle  of 
King's  Mountain — Sumter  vs.  Tarleton — The  Battle  of  the 
Cowpens 275 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Greene  Takes  Command  and  Commences  his  Famous  Re- 
treat— The  Crossing  of  the  Catawba,  the  Yadkin  and  the 
Dan  Rivers — Cornwallis  Abandons  Pursuit — He  Retires 
to  Hillsborough  and  is  Followed  by  Greene — Battle  of 
Guilford  Court  House — The  Victor  Retreats — Greene 
Moves  into  South  Carolina 287 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  Situation  in  Virginia — Greene  Moves  upon  the  British 
— The  Battle  of  Eutaw  Springs — Cornwallis  Joins  Arnold 
—Lafayette  Follows  Cornwallis — Washington's  Change 
of  Plans — Cornwallis  Moves  to  Yorktown — He  is  Bottled 
up  there 297 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Siege  of  Yorktown — Storming  of  the  Redoubts — Sur- 
render of  Cornwallis — End  of  the  Revolution 306 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
The  Naval  Heroes  of  our  Revolution 313 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 


CHAPTER    I. 

CAUSES  OF  THE  REVOLUTION — OUR  DEBT  TO 
THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH — THE  SONS  OF  LIB- 
ERTY— THE  BOSTON  MASSACRE— SAM  ADAMS' 
REGIMENT — THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY — PAT- 
RICK HENRY. 

IF  I  should  ask  you,  Boy,  to  tell  me  what  were 
the  causes  of  the  American  Revolution,  you  would 
promptly  answer  The  Stamp  Act,  Taxation  With- 
out Representation,  and  The  Quartering  of  Eng- 
lish Troops  upon  the  Colonists.  Your 'answer 
would  be  correct.  These  were  the  immediate 
causes.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  there  were 
other,  deeper  and  more  important  causes,  and 
these  were  as  old  as  the  colonies  themselves. 

Religious  freedom,  the  very  thing  that  drove 
many  of  the  English  and  French  colonists  to  the 
new  land,  was  in  danger  as  soon  as  England  began 
to  tighten  her  hold  on  the  colonies.  This  she  did 
as  soon  as  the  colonists  had  planted  themselves 
securely  and  become  a  prosperous,  money-making 


2          HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

community,  firmly  established  and  rapidly  devel- 
oping. Until  then  she  paid  little  or  no  attention 
to  the  colonies,  and  the  colonies  were  equally  glad 
to  pay  as  little  attention  to  the  government  of 
England.  Like  loyal  citizens  they  helped  the 
kings  of  England  in  their  wars,  and  fought  French 
and  Indians  time  and  again  for  the  mother  coun- 
try. In  one  of  these  expeditions  they  even  suc- 
ceeded in  capturing  Louisburg  in  Canada,  which 
was  then  held  by  the  French.  Now  this  was  no 
trifling  achievement.  This  city  was  fortified  at 
great  expense  in  the  same  manner  that  European 
cities  were  fortified  under  the  system  of  Vauban, 
a  famous  military  engineer.  Being  newly  fortified 
the  work  was  done  very  scientifically  and  the  city 
was  known  as  the  Gibraltar  of  America.  Indeed 
the  French  were  as  much  surprised  at  its  capture 
as  the  English  would  be  to-day  to  hear  of  the 
capture  .of  Gibraltar.  Now  while  the  colonists 
were  helped  by  the  English  ships  in  this  under- 
taking, they  really  effected  the  capture  of  the  city 
themselves.  The  ships  prevented  the  French 
ships  from  bringing  reinforcements  to  the  belea- 
guered town,  but  the  colonists,  consisting  mostly 
of  backwoodsmen  and  sailors,  did  the  actual  fight- 
ing against  the  fortifications. 

These  backwoodsmen  and  sailors  already  knew 
ho\>  fight  at  sea  and  against  Indians  as  well  as, 
if  not  _  tter  than,  any  other  men,  and  when  they 
captured  this  great  fortified  town  they  were  very 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION          3 

much  elated.  They  suddenly  perceived  that  they 
could  fight  against  regular  soldiers  with  success, 
and  even  take  the  most  scientifically  fortified 
cities.  Perhaps  they  got  too  good  an  opinion  of 
their  ability.  At  any  rate  they  began  to  feel  quite 
independent  and  masterful,  and  the  king  became 
alarmed.  He  gave  Louisburg  back  to  the  French 
in  order  that  it  might  be  a  menace  to  the  colonists 
and  hold  them  in  check.  This  was  a  nice  fatherly 
way  of  providing  for  his  subjects  in  America,  was 
it  not  ?  He  laid  them  open  to  attack  from  the 
French  and  Indians,  because  he  was  afraid  of  their 
growing  importance  and  strength.  To  this  extent 
also  he  prevented  them  from  developing,  which 
they  had  been  doing  in  a  wonderful  way,  wresting 
New  York  from  the  Dutch,  and  the  southern  col- 
onies and  what  was  then  the  great  unknown  West 
from  the  Spanish  and  French. 

So  the  king  gave  orders  to  the  governors  of 
his  colonies,  as  our  States  were  then  called,  to  be 
more  severe  with  their  people,  and  he  began  to 
insist  that  they  collect  taxes  to  be  paid  to  England 
to  help  carry  on  her  wars.  He  made  little  or  no 
attempt  to  interfere  with  religion,  but  the  colonists 
feared  that  he  might  in  time,  and  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  he  would  have  done  so  if  he  ever  acquired 
sufficient  power  over  his  American  colonies,  for 
there  was  a  great  diversity  of  religions  in  Amer- 
ica even  at  that  time,  and  the  English  n^'on  had 
an  established  church. 


4          HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Now  this  matter  of  religious  freedom,  the  right 
to  worship  God  in  the  manner  dilated  by  one's 
conscience,  was  a  matter  of  vast  importance  to 
these  American  colonists.  It  was  dearer  to  them 
than  life  itself.  Boston  in  fact,  is  situated  upon 
land  that  was  once  the  property  of  a  hermit,  one 
William  Blackstone,  who  lived  alone  with  his 
books  in  order  that  he  might  be  free  in  his  religion. 
It  is  hard  to  realise  such  a  state  of  affairs  in  our 
day  when  everyone  recognises  the  right  of  another 
to  believe  what  his  conscience  tells  him  to  believe 
and  to  worship  God  as  he  pleases, — in  our  day, 
when  the  whole  world  is  aroused  to  such  a  state 
of  sympathy  with  the  misfortunes  of  one  poor 
Hebrew  soldier,  Captain  Dreyfus  of  the  French 
army,  that  the  French  are  fearing  that  they  have 
lost  all  their  friends  and  allies  by  persecuting  the 
man.  There  have  been  times  when  good  Chris- 
tians would  have  rejoiced  at  the  persecutions  of  a 
man  whether  he  was  innocent  or  guilty,  merely 
because  he  was  a  Hebrew.  But  those  times,  for- 
tunately, have  passed. 

So  the  desire  for  religious  freedom,  you  see,  was 
the  first  step  towards  social  equality  and  personal 
freedom.  This  is  one  of  the  many  things  for 
which  we  have  to  thank  the  Christian  church. 
And  as  the  personal  and  political  freedom,  and 
equality  of  men  is  due  in  this  measure  to  the 
Christian  church,  so  the  freedom  of  women,  which 
in  your  day  will  extend  to  their  right  to  vote  and 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION          5 

hold  any  description  of  political  office,  is  due  to 
the  freedom  of  men.  What  mighty  blessings  have 
come  from  the  deep  religious  conscience  of  those 
old  colonists  !  And  they  are  more  than  you  think, 
Boy,  in  a  practical  way.  None  but  men  and 
women  of  such  stern,  intrepid  character  could 
have  settled  permanently  in  a  country  so  bleak 
and  in  many  ways  uninviting  as  the  Eastern  shores 
of  America.  The  ground  had  to  be  freed  from 
countless  rocks,  the  forest  from  murderous  Indians 
and  the  forests  cleared  away  before  the  beautiful 
farms  of  the  East  were  possible.  It  is  a  very 
fortunate  thing  that  our  country  was  discovered 
from  the  East  and  not  from  the  West  therefore. 
If  We  had  been  discovered  from  the  West  the  first 
colonists  would  have  landed  in  a  Paradise,  almost 
— certainly  in  a  land  of  wonderful  plenty.  Their 
life  would  have  been  one  of  comparative  ease,  and 
they  would  never  have  bred  a  race  of  men  strong 
enough  or  even  inclined  to  develop  the  rugged 
East,  which  is  now  the  richest  and  greatest  portion 
of  the  country. 

There  was  still  another  cause  which  is  generally 
overlooked,  for  this  suspicion  and  growing  hatred 
of  the  colonies  for  the  mother  country.  As  far 
back  as  1740  an  attempt  was  made  by  an  English 
naval  officer,  Commodore  Knowles,  to  impress 
American  seamen  into  the  naval  service  of  Eng- 
land. One  winter  day  in  Boston  he  swooped 
down  on  the  wharves  and  carried  away  to  his  ships, 


6          HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

not  only  skilled  American  seamen,  but  also  ship 
carpenters  and  boys.  There  was  an  immediate 
riot.  The  town  was  ablaze  with  indignation,  and 
excitement  ran  high.  The  Revolution  might  have 
started  then  and  there  had  it  not  been  for  the 
English  Governor  Shirley,  who  became  frightened 
and  made  the  Commodore  return  the  men  to  their 
homes.  It  is  strange  to  think  that  the  cause  of 
the  war  of  1812  with  England  came  near  bringing 
on  the  Revolution  a  generation  before  the  proper 
time.  For  you  will  remember  that  these  English- 
men, who  want  to  impress  us  with  their  friendli- 
ness now,  wanted  to  impress  our  citizens  for  serv- 
ice on  their  warships  when  we  were  a  weak,  young 
nation. 

You  will  see  therefore  that  matters  were  gradu- 
ally drawing  to  a  climax,  coming  to  a  focus  as  we 
say.  The  English  government  was  becoming 
alarmed  at  the  growing  strength  of  the  colonies. 
The  colonists  were  commencing  to  fear  for  their 
religious  and  personal  freedom.  The  English 
government  was  beginning  to  tax  the  colonies. 
The  colonists  were  beginning  to  perceive  the  in- 
justice  of  taxing  them  except  for  their  own  bene- 
fit, and  of  taxing  them  for  the  support  of  the  gen- 
eral government  of  England,  in  which  they  had 
no  representation.  The  English  government  was 
becoming  weak  and  poor  from  constant  wars. 
The  colonists  were  commencing  to  appreciate 
their  strength  from  their  success  in  the  French  and 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION          7 

Indian  wars.  The  whirlwind  was  gathering  force, 
was  commencing  to  revolve — and  when  it  finally 
burst  upon  England  it  revolved  things  so  com- 
pletely that  we  call  the  war  it  produced  our 
American  Revolution. 

In  autumn  of  1760  George  the  Third  ascended 
the  throne  of  England.  His  ambitious  mother 
coached  him  in  the  following  words  :  "  Be  King, 
George ;  be  King.*'  He  answered  that  he  would 
be  King  indeed — and  like  most  kings  began  to 
look  about  immediately  for  more  money  for  his 
empty  treasury.  To  get  it  he  and  his  parliament 
proceeded  to  tax  the  colonies.  He  was  the  first  j. 
English  monarch  since  King  John  to  attempt  to 
tax  subjects  of  his  except  by  their  own  representa- 
tives. We  can  laugh  at  the  poor  fool  to-day. 
But  that  piece  of  his  idiocy  was  a  tragedy  then. 

To-day,  on  account  of  the  late  war  with  Spain, 
and  our  present  war  in  the  Philippines,  we  pay  a 
tax  on  business  papers,  legal  documents  and  many 
other  things.  We  do  it  cheerfully,  as  we  are  taxed 
by  our  own  representatives  in  Congress  and  by  our 
own  consent.  But  in  1763  Lord  Bute  proposed 
that  the  American  colonists  should  pay  such  a  tax 
for  the  benefit  of  King  George  the  Third  and  his 
empty  coffers.  In  1765  such  an  act  was  passed, 
and  the  trouble  began.  The  people  were  dis- 
mayed. It  meant  not  only  expense  to  them,  but 
a  blow  at  their  liberties.  Benjamin  Franklin  was 
in  England  at  the  time.  He  wrote  to  America, 


8          HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

"  The  Sun  of  Liberty  is  set ;  the  Americans  must 
light  the  lamps  of  industry  and  economy."  In 
America,  "  No  taxation  without  representation  " 
became  the  watchword  of  the  people.  Bands  of 
men  determined  to  preserve  the  rights  of  the  col- 
onists were  formed  in  New  York,  Boston,  and 
many  other  of  the  principal  cities  and  towns. 
They  called  themselves  "  Sons  of  Liberty  "  and 
declared  that  they  would  prevent  the  enforcement 
of  the  Stamp  Act.  To-day  we  call  them  the 
"  Fathers  of  Liberty."  These  men  were  all  heroes 
of  our  Revolution,  as  was  Franklin,  though  the 
latter  and  perhaps  some  of  the  former  did  not  take 
part  in  the  actual  conflict. 

The  people  rose  as  one  man.  A  general  con- 
gress was  called  to  meet  in  New  York.  There 
was  a  prompt  riot  in  Boston,  which  the  king  then 
considered  the  most  impudent  and  unruly  city  in 
his  colonies.  There  the  Sons  of  Liberty  marched 
through  the  town  shouting  "  Liberty,  property, 
and  no  stamps."  They  frightened  Lieutenant- 
Governor  (afterwards  Governor)  Hutchinson,  a 
Tory  (that  is,  an  adherent  of  the  English  govern- 
ment) nearly  out  of  his  wits,  and  hung  effigies  of 
Lord  Bute  on  the  trees.  The  Sons  of  Liberty 
committed  no  violence,  but  an  unruly  rabble  that 
followed  them  plundered  the  government  store- 
houses and  wrecked  Hutchinson's  house.  These 
acts  were  condemned  by  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  but 
they  did  not  abate  their  opposition  to  the  Stamp 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION          9 

Act.  On  the  contrary,  they  destroyed  the  stamp 
paper  sent  over  by  England,  and  the  New  York 
congress  petitioned  the  king  and  parliament.  As 
no  one  would  use  the  stamps  business  was  brought 
to  a  standstill,  even  in  the  courts  and  customs 
houses.  Eventually,  in  1766,  parliament  repealed 
the  Stamp  Act. 

Right  here,  Boy,  it  is  only  fair  to  the  English 
to  say  that  there  were  in  England  at  this  time 
prominent  men,  who  recognised  the  rights  of  the 
colonists  and  who  did  all  in  their  power  to  influ- 
ence the  king  and  parliament  to  observe  these 
rights.  Such  men  were  Conway,  Pitt,  Burke  and 
Barr.  Again  in  our  civil  war,  when  the  great 
mass  of  the  English  people  wanted  to  side  with 
the  South  and  help  break  our  country  in  two,  there 
were  men  who  successfully  opposed  the  move- 
ment. The  leader  of  these  men  was  the  celebrated 
John  Bright,  who,  by  the  way,  did  not  believe  in 
war  at  all,  but  who  did  believe  it  was  necessary  to 
free  the  slaves. 

Foolish  King  George  was  not  through  with  the 
colonies,  however.  Two  years  after  the  repeal  of 
the  Stamp  Act  he  sent  troops  to  Boston.  The 
people  indignantly  refused  to  furnish  them  with  a 
barracks  and  they  were  camped,  therefore,  on 
Boston  Common,  and  quartered  in  Faneuil  Hall 
and  the  Town  House.  In  the  harbour  the  Eng- 
lish kept  a  fleet  of  eight  men-of-war.  The  Royal 
Officers  now  thought  they  were  able  to  take  care 


io        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

of  the  Sons  of  Liberty  without  trouble.  But 
nothing  is  more  apt  to  bring  about  a  disturbance 
of  the  peace  than  the  constant  association  of  nat- 
ural enemies,  and  the  people  soon  began  to  con- 
sider the  red-coated  British  soldiers  as  such. 
There  were  a  number  of  encounters  between  the 
people  and  the  "lobster-backs"  as  the  people  called 
the  soldiers,  because  of  their  red  coats.  The  most 
important  of  these  occurred  on  March  5,  1770, 
This  was  called  the  Boston  Massacre.  Some 
young  men  quarrelled  with  a  sentry  who  challenged 
them  as  they  were  going  home.  A  crowd  gath- 
ered. Soldiers  ran  to  the  aid  of  the  sentry,  headed 
by  a  Captain  Preston.  Some  of  the  soldiers  fired. 
Three  citizens  were  killed  and  eight  wounded. 
The  drums  brought  the  two  regiments  of  soldiers 
and  the  excited  people  of  the  town  to  the  scene. 
More  trouble  appeared  to  be  inevitable.  But  Gov- 
ernor Hutchinson  appeared  on  the  balcony  of  the 
Town  House  and  promised  that  a  full  investiga- 
tion should  be  made  and  Captain  Preston  gave 
himself  up  for  trial.  The  next  day  a  great  meet- 
ing was  held  in  Faneuil  Hall,  and  the  people  sent 
a  committee  to  Hutchinson  demanding  the  with- 
drawal of  the  troops  from  the  town. 

Sam  Adams,  who  is  called  the  "  Father  of  the 
Revolution,"  was  at  the  head  of  the  committee. 
He  was  a  prominent  Boston  lawyer  and  a  leader 
among  the  colonists.  He  was  a  young  man  when 
Knowles  made  his  attempt  to  impress  the  Boston 


THE  BOSTON  TEA  PARTY." — Page   13 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        n 

sailors,  and  you  may  be  sure  that  such  an  event 
made  a  deep  impression  on  his  mind.  He  wrote 
many  articles  for  the  newspapers,  taking  the  side 
of  the  colonists,  and  even  wrote  a  petition  to  the 
king,  to  which  the  latter  paid  no  attention.  By 
his  advice  the  patriots  throughout  all  the  colonies 
agree  "  to  eat  nothing,  drink  nothing,  wear  noth- 
ing "  that  came  from  Great  Britain.  This  was  to 
prevent  the  British  from  collecting  taxes  on 
certain  articles  which  were  imported  from  the 
mother  country,  for  parliament  and  foolish  George 
III.  had  again  attempted  to  tax  the  Americans. 
At  this  suggestion  women  gave  up  wearing  hand- 
some dresses  made  from  imported  cloths  and  put 
spanning  wheels  in  their  drawing-rooms,  with 
which  they  proceeded  to  produce  the  necessary 
stuffs  to  clothe  the  colonists.  Homespun  became 
the  fashionable  wearing  apparel  and  all  gave  up 
drinking  tea. 

It  was  Samuel  Adams  who  appeared  before 
Governor  Hutchinson  and  demanded  that  the  two 
regiments  of  British  troops  be  withdrawn  from 
Boston.  Governor  Hutchinson  tried  to  satisfy 
him  with  one,  but  Sam  was  as  firm  as  a  rock,  and 
the  mortified  Governor,  burning  with  rage,  was 
compelled  to  assent.  After  that  those  two  regi- 
ments of  British  troops  were  called  "  Sam  Adams' 
Regiments."  What  a  scene  that  must  have  been 
when  Sam  Adams  clothed  in  plain  homespun 
stood  before  the  Governor  and  his  twenty-four 


12        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

councillors  and  a  number  of  British  officers,  the 
former  resplendent  in  powdered  wigs,  gold-laced 
hats  and  scarlet  waistcoats,  and  the  latter  in  their 
brilliant  uniforms,  and  made  them  do  what  he 
demanded  in  the  name  of  the  people  !  He,  too, 
was  one  of  the  Heroes  of  the  Revolution. 

On  account  of  all  this  the  English  parliament 
made  a  concession  to  the  "  patriots,"  as  they  were 
now  beginning  to  be  called  and  to  call  themselves. 
It  took  off  the  tax  on  everything  but  tea.  But 
the  Americans  were  fighting  the  principle,  and 
while  a  solitary  article  was  taxed  they  felt  that 
they  must  resist.  The  merchants,  therefore,  re- 
fused to  import  tea,  and  the  patriots  and  their 
wives  and  daughters  still  declined  to  drink  it. 

They  made  tea  of  raspberry  leaves,  of  thyme, 
and  other  shrubs,  and  drank  that  instead.  In  con- 
sequence of  this  the  merchants  of  England  found 
themselves  with  a  great  deal  of  tea  on  their  hands 
which  they  could  not  sell.  These  merchants  were 
as  short-sighted  as  the  king  and  his  advisers. 
They  thought  if  they  lowered  the  price  of  the  tea 
Americans  could  be  induced  to  buy  it.  So  they 
lowered  the  price  three  pence  a  pound,  which  was 
very  considerable  reduction,  loaded  it  on  board 
ships  and  sent  it  across  the  Atlantic.  The  king 
was  highly  pleased  at  this  act.  When  friends 
warned  Lord  North  that  an  attempt  to  force  tea 
upon  the  colonies  would  make  trouble,  the  latter, 
who  was  the  leader  of  the  ministry,  replied  : 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        13 

"  The  king  will  have  it  so.  He  means  to  try  the 
question  with  the  Americans."  On  their  side  the 
Americans  were  quite  ready  to  have  it  tried.  The 
Boston  committee  of  correspondence  (such  com- 
mittees had  been  formed  in  all  the  colonies  to  keep 
each  other  advised  so  that  they  might  act  in  con- 
cert) wrote  the  other  committees  that  the  tea  would 
not  be  permitted  to  land,  and  the  other  commit- 
tees replied  that  they  would  act  in  the  same  way. 
The  tea  arrived  in  Boston  in  November,  1773, 
three  shiploads  of  it.  No  one  would  buy  it  ex- 
cept Tory  merchants  who  wanted  it  for  Tory 
customers.  The  people,  however,  would  not  per- 
mit this.  The  people  demanded  that  the  tea  be 
taken  back  to  England.  The  ship  captains  could 
not  take  it  back  without  a  permit  from  the  Cus- 
tom House,  and  the  Customs  Officers  refused  to 
grant  the  permits.  They  were  king's  officers,  and 
it  was  their  intention  to  seize  the  cargoes  of  tea 
if  they  were  not  landed  within  a  certain  time, 
which  they  had  a  right,  by  law,  to  do.  They 
could  then  turn  it  over  to  the  Tory  merchants. 
The  date  on  which  this  could  be  done  was  the 
1 7th  of  December.  It  was  necessary  that  the 
patriots  should  do  something  before  that  time. 
Accordingly,  on  the  night  of  the  i6th,  a  great 
number  of  Boston  men  disguised,  some  as  Indians 
and  others  in  all  kinds  of  outlandish  costumes, 
went  on  board  the  ships  and  threw  the  tea  into 
the  harbour.  You  may  be  sure  that  there  was  a 


i4        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

merry  Christmas  in  Boston  that  year  for  those 
people  dressed  in  homespun. 

It  will  be  seen  that  most  of  the  events  of  im- 
portance at  this  time  occurred  in  or  near  Boston. 
This  was  not  because  the  other  colonies  did  not 
feel  and  act  in  the  same  way  that  Massachusetts 
did.  But  Boston  was  the  most  rebellious  port, 
and  the  king  thought  that  by  stamping  out  the 
trouble  there  he  would  teach  a  lesson  to  all. 
Boston  was  not  the  only  port  where  tea  was  sent 
by  the  British  merchants.  But  at  the  others  the 
people  compelled  the  ships  to  sail  back.  New 
York  City  was  also  burdened  with  the  king's 
troops  like  Boston,  but  the  people  refused  to  sup- 
port them.  In  Virginia,  as  early  as  the  Stamp 
Act,  the  eloquent  Patrick  Henry  made  a  memo- 
rable speech  in  which  he  exclaimed  :  "  Caesar  had 
his  Brutus,  Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell,  and 
George  the  Third "  Here  a  number  of  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature  in  which  he  was  speaking 
cried,  "  Treason  !  Treason  !  "  Henry  waited  a  mo- 
ment for  silence  and  then  continued —  "  — may 
profit  by  their  example.  If  that  be  treason  make 
the  most  of  it."  • 

Your  mother  has  told  you,  Boy,  that  tea  would 
make  you  nervous.  Well,  you  may  be  sure  that 
tea  was  making  a  great  many  people  nervous  in 
these  old  days.  The  three  pence  a  pound  in  re- 
duction was  sufficient  to  pay  the  tax,  so  as  a  mat- 
ter of  economy  the  tax  did  not  affect  the  colonists 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION         15 

at  all.  In  addition  the  East  India  Company  was 
willing  to  pay  the  tax  itself.  This  company  had 
seventeen  million  pounds  of  tea  in  its  warehouses 
which  it  could  not  sell,  and  the  company  was 
threatened  with  ruin.  Now  George  III.  owned  a 
great  many  shares  in  the  company  and  the  failure 
of  the  company  would  impoverish  him,  whereas 
if  he  could  make  the  colonists  buy  the  tea  he 
would  not  only  get  the  profit  on  his  shares,  but 
the  tax  also.  That  is  the  reason  tea  was  picked^ 
out  by  him  as  the  sole  article  to  be  taxed. 

"  There  must  be  one  tax,"  declared  the  king, 
"  to  keep  up  the  right."  So  the  throwing  of  the 
tea  into  the  harbour  was  a  blow  at  the  king's  own 
pocket-book  as  well  as  at  what  he  considered  his 
royal  prerogative  to  tax  the  people.  To  explain 
still  further  the  fury  of  the  people  at  this  tax  on 
tea,  it  must  be  explained  that  the  people  of  Eng- 
land themselves  did  not  have  to  pay  any  tax  on 
tea.  Indeed,  the  colonies  were  taxed  unjustifi- 
ably in  many  ways.  England  cared  nothing  for 
her  colonies  except  for  what  money  she  could 
wring  from  them,  and  what  men  she  could  obtain 
to  aid  her  in  her  wars.  The  colonists  were  for- 
bidden to  carry  on  manufactures  except  in  a  very 
small  way,  and  were  compelled  to  buy  their  man- 
ufactured goods  of  England.  They  might  take 
iron  ore  from  a  mine,  but  they  had  to  send  it  to 
England  to  be  manufactured,  at  the  same  time 
paying  a  tax  for  exporting  it.  When  it  was  man- 


1 6        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

ufactured  they  bought  it  back  and  had  to  pay  a 
tax  for  importing  it.  Nor  were  they  permitted 
by  England  to  carry  on  trade  with  any  other 
country  but  England  in  most  articles.  All  the 
furs  caught  by  their  hunters,  and  the  fish  caught 
by  their  fishermen,  had  to  be  sent  to  England. 
So  with  all  the  pitch,  tar,  turpentine,  and  ship 
timbers  from  their  immense  forests.  In  Maine 
every  tree  of  more  than  twenty-four  inches  in 
diameter  at  a  foot  above  the  ground,  could  be  cut 
down  only  for  a  mast  for  one  of  the  king's  ships. 
The  colonies  could  not  even  sell  freely  to  each 
other.  To  King  George  the  colonies  were  much 
like  the  goose  that  laid  the  golden  eggs.  Like 
many  another  man  he  proceeded  to  kill  that  valu- 
able goose. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    BOSTON     PORT     BILL  —  GENERAL   GAGE  - 
THE     FIRST     CONTINENTAL     CONGRESS — THE 
"  MINUTE-MEN  "—JOSEPH  WARREN— PAUL   RE- 
VERE— LEXINGTON  AND  CONCORD 

YOU  can  easily  imagine,  Boy,  that  the  king  was 
not  in  a  very  good  humour  when  he  heard  of  the 
Boston  Tea  Party.  He  made  preparations  at  once 
to  punish  Boston  and  the  Boston  people.  He  had 
Lord  North  pass  a  bill  in  parliament  ordering  that 
after  the  i8th  of  June,  1774,  no  person  should  load 
or  unload  any  ship  until  the  town  apologised  and 
paid  for  the  tea  which  had  been  destroyed.  He 
recalled  Governor  Hutchinson  to  England  and 
sent  General  Gage  from  New  York  to  be  military 
governor  and  enforce  the  Port  Bill.  Even  Eng- 
lish vessels  had  to  land  their  goods  at  Salem  or 
Marblehead.  This  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  pros- 
perity of  Boston,  and  of  the  entire  colony.  The 
wharves  lay  idle,  the  warehouses  empty,  merchants 
and  traders  had  to  stop  business,  which  threw  a 
great  number  of  employees  out  of  work.  In  ad- 
dition to  this  provisions  grew  scarce.  They  could 
not  be  obtained  from  the  other  colonies,  as  all 
freight  was  carried  in  those  days  by  water. 

2  I7 


i8        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

General  Gage  had  another  penalty  to  inflict 
upon  the  town  also.  He  was  ordered  to  carry  out 
the  Regulation  Acts.  These  were  orders  of  par- 
liament which  quartered  more  troops  upon  the 
town,  forbade  the  holding  of  town  meetings  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  governor,  save  once  a  year, 
and  vested  all  the  power  of  government  in  the 
governor  and  officers  appointed  by  the  king  or 
governor.  The  people  now  had  something  to 
struggle  for  more  important  than  freedom  from 
taxation.  They  were  now  denied  rights  that 
belonged  to  every  Englishman. 

They  got  around  the  provision  forbidding  them 
to  hold  but  one  town  meeting  a  year  by  adjourn- 
ing that  one  meeting  from  time  to  time  and  thus 
making  it  last  a  year.  Then  they  got  together 
the  people  of  the  entire  colony,  or  rather  their 
representatives,  and  adopted  some  declarations 
called  the  "Suffolk  Resolves."  These  declared 
that  the  people  would  obey  a  Continental  Con- 
gress, and  the  people  of  Massachusetts  invited  the 
people  of  the  other  colonies  to  send  delegates  to 
a  Continental  Congress,  to  be  held  in  Philadelphia. 
All  the  colonies  sent  delegates  except  Georgia. 
The  Congress  met  in  September,  1774.  An  ad- 
dress setting  forth  their  grievances  was  sent  to  the 
king  by  this  congress  of  the  colonies,  and  the  del- 
egates made  an  agreement  to  refuse  to  carry  on 
any  trade  with  Great  Britain  until  their  wrongs 
should  be  righted.  The  other  colonies  sympathised 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION         19 

with  the  people  of  Boston  in  more  practical 
ways  and  sent  them  provisions  whenever  it  was 
possible. 

All  this  alarmed  General  Gage,  and  he  deter- 
mined to  seize  all  the  powder  belonging  to  Massa- 
chusetts. Some  he  captured,  together  with  two 
field-pieces  that  were  in  Cambridge.  He  failed  to 
get  some  powder  that  was  stored  in  Salem,  how- 
ever. 

The  colonists,  on  their  side,  foresaw  war  and 
began  to  prepare  for  it.  Companies  of  militia 
were  formed  in  every  town  and  began  to  drill, 
under  the  instruction  of  veterans  of  the  French 
and  Indian  wars.  Alarm  companies,  called 
"  Minute-men  "  for  the  reason  that  they  were  to 
be  ready  at  a  "  minute's  notice,"  held  themselves 
ready  to  fight  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night. 
These  were  especially  to  guard  the  powder,  arms 
and  food  that  was  being  collected  for  what  we  may 
now  call  the  American  army,  which  was  being 
formed  in  this  hap-hazard  but  enthusiastic  way. 

During  the  winter  of  1774-1775  a  good  sttpply 
of  food  and  powder  for  the  use  of  the  men  who 
were  to  be  food  for  powder,  was  collected  at  Wor- 
cester and  Concord.  General  Gage  determined  to 
destroy  these  stores.  He  sent  two  officers  as 
scouts  to  study  the  best  roads  to  Worcester  and 
Concord.  These  scouts  reported  that  at  Concord 
the  Americans  had  fourteen  pieces  of  cannon  and 
two  mortars,  besides  stores  of  flour,  fish,  salt,  rice, 


20        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

and  a  magazine  of  powder  and  cartridges.  The 
cartridges  to  which  they  referred  were  probably 
sacks  of  powder  for  the  cannon,  as  cartridges  for 
muskets  were  unknown  at  the  time.  The  brass 
cartridges  with  which  you  are  familiar  to-day  were 
not  used  until  comparatively  recently. 

You  will  remember,  Boy,  that  the  Boston  Mas- 
sacre occurred  on  March  5th.  Now  the  people  of 
Boston  held  a  meeting  on  every  March  5th  after 
that  to  keep  the  event  in  mind.  The  favourite 
orator  in  Boston  at  this  time  was  Joseph  Warren, 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  men  in  Massachusetts, 
who  was  afterwards  killed  at  Bunker  Hill.  Now, 
on  March  5,  1775,  it  was  a  dangerous  proceeding 
to  make  a  Boston  Massacre  oration.  General  Gage 
occupied  the  town  with  troops,  and  it  was  under- 
stood that  there  would  be  an  attempt  to  keep 
Warren  from  speaking.  A  number  of  officers  of 
the  king's  army  actually  did  attend  the  meeting  in 
Old  South  Church,  but  Warren  made  his  speech 
nevertheless,  and  Sam  Adams  and  John  Hancock, 
\vho  afterwards  was  the  first  man  to  sign  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence,  sat  on  the  platform. 
The  officers  tried  to  interrupt  Warren  in  his 
speech  and  one  of  them  held  some  bullets  up  in 
his  hand  to  intimate  that  they  were  what  the  people 
might  expect  if  they  opposed  the  king  any  longer. 
But  neither  Warren  nor  the  people  were  fright- 
ened. 

Things  began  to  get  warm  for  the  more  prom- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        21 

inent  of  the  patriots,  however,  and  Sam  Adams 
and  Hancock  were  obliged  to  leave  Boston  and 
take  refuge  in  Lexington.  All  knew  that  General 
Gage  meant  to  capture  the  cannon  and  stores  in 
Concord,  also.  A  number  of  mechanics,  therefore, 
organised  to  watch  the  doings  of  the  British  and 
give  information  by  messenger  to  the  people 
of  Lexington  and  Concord.  One  of  these  men  was 
Paul  Revere,  a  copper-plate  engraver,  who  had 
been  a  lieutenant  of  artillery  in  the  provincial 
army  during  the  French  and  Indian  wars. 

On  the  1 8th  of  April  the  soldiers  were  seen 
moving  from  the  Common  to  the  river.  Word 
was  sent  to  Warren,  and  he  asked  Paul  Revere  to 
warn  the  people  of  Lexington,  and  tell  Hancock 
and  Adams  of  their  danger.  Revere  had  promised 
the  Charlestown  people  that  he  would  hang  a 
signal  from  the  Old  North  Church  when  the  sol- 
diers moved.  One  lantern  would  mean  that  they 
had  passed  out  over  the  Neck  (Boston  Neck,  not 
Charlestown  Neck),  and  two  would  mean  that  they 
were  crossing  the  river  in  boats.  He  hung  out 
the  two  lanterns,  then  hurried  to  his  own  boat,  and 
made  direct  for  Charlestown.  There  he  got  a  horse 
and  rode  out  over  Charlestown  Neck,  toward  Lex- 
ington and  Concord,  alarming  the  people  as  he 
went.  The  British  horsemen  were  patrolling  the 
road,  but  by  taking  a  roundabout  way  he  escaped 
them  and  got  safely  to  Lexington.  Hancock 
wanted  to  stay  and  fight  with  the  farmers,  but 


22        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Adams,  was  wiser,  and  knew  that  Hancock  and 
himself  were  more  necessary  for  other  work. 
"We  belong  to  the  cabinet,"  he  said,  quietly,  and 
by  his  persuasions  and  the  entreaties  of  Dorothy 
Quincy,  who  was  to  be  married  to  Hancock,  and 
who  was  in  the  house  with  Hancock's  aunt,  in- 
duced John  to  go  to  Woburn,  where  they  would 
be  safe.  In  the  meantime  Revere  and  two  com- 
panions set  out  for  Concord.  Revere  was  cap- 
tured on  the  way,  but  one  of  the  messengers  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  to  Concord.  Thus  the  whole 
country  round  was  alarmed.  Captain  Parker  had 
command  of  the  Americans  at  Lexington.  He 
assembled  his  men,  but  when  he  learned  that  the 
British  were  still  far  away,  he  told  his  men  to  go 
and  rest  until  called  together  again.  They  had 
loaded  their  guns,  and  for  the  sake  of  safety  (just 
as  we  take  a  cartridge  out  of  a  gun  to-day,  when 
it  is  not  to  be  used)  Captain  Parker's  militia  fired 
a  volley.  This  volley  was  heard  by  the  British 
officers  who  had  captured  Paul  Revere,  and  they 
took  his  horse  and  let  him  go. 

While  Revere  was  dashing  over  Charlestown 
Neck,  Gage's  troops  (about  nine  hundred  gren- 
adiers and  light  infantry)  began  marching  from 
their  landing  place  toward  Lexington.  They 
marched  in  silence  and  supposed  themselves  un- 
noticed. Suddenly  they  heard  the  firing  of  guns 
and  the  pealing  of  church  bells.  Their  secret 
was  out.  Colonel  Smith,  who  commanded  the 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        23 

British,  immediately  sent  back  to  Boston  for  rein- 
forcements and  sent  Major  Pitcairn,  with  a  small 
body  of  men,  on  rapidly  to  Lexington.  Pitcairn 
soon  began  meeting  American  scouts,  who  had 
been  sent  foward  to  watch  for  the  approach  of 
the  British.  He  captured  all  of  these  save  one 
Thaddeus  Bowman,  who  eluded  the  soldiers  and 
galloped  back  to  Lexington  to  give  the  alarm  that 
the  British  were  near.  Captain  Parker  had  the 
drums  sounded  and  gathered  his  men  together. 
After  his  command  had  loaded  their  muskets 
with  powder  and  ball,  he  delivered  to  them  one 
of  those  characteristic  short,  sharp  speeches,  so 
common  with  Americans. 

"  Don't  fire,"  said  he,  "  unless  fired  upon  ;  but 
if  they  mean  to  have  a  war,  let  it  begin  here." 

It  began  right  there. 

Pitcairn  waited  for  Colonel  Smith  to  catch  up 
with  him.  Then  the  entire  body  advanced 
against  Captain  Parker  and  his  handful  of  men. 

"Ye  villains,  ye  rebels,  disperse,"  cried  Pitcairn. 

A  shot  was  fired  by  the  British  and  followed  by 
others.  The  Americans  returned  the  fire.  Then, 
being  frightfully  outnumbered,  they  slowly  re- 
treated, still  firing.  Eight  of  them  had  been  killed 
and  ten  wounded.  But  two  Englishmen  were 
wounded.  The  British  gave  three  cheers  and 
passed  on  to  Concord,  greatly  elated. 

It  was  seven  o'clock  on  a  beautiful  spring  morn- 
ing when  the  British  entered  Concord.  It  was 


24        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

a  great  day,  this  April  19,  1775,  Boy.  The 
greatest  movement  in  the  history  of  the  world  for 
the  freedom  of  mankind  began  on  this  spring  day 
in  the  pretty  town  of  Concord.  The  fruit  trees 
were  in  bloom  and  the  fields  were  already  green 
with  the  growing  grain.  They  looked  more  like  a 
playground  for  children  than  a  scene  for  a  battle. 
And  you  know  how  happy  and  peaceful  all  people 
feel  on  an  early  spring  morning.  But  the  men  of 
Concord  were  very  tired  this  morning.  They  had 
been  working  all  night  removing  and  concealing 
stores.  They  got  most  of  them  out  of  harm's  way. 
But  the  British  found  about  sixty  barrels  of 
flour,  which  they  split  open,  some  wooden  spoons 
and  trenches  and  three  cannon.  They  burned  the 
wooden  articles  and  knocked  the  trunnions  off  the 
cannon.  (The  trunnion  of  a  cannon  is  the  short 
cylindrical  projection  on  either  side  which  rests 
on  the  carriage.)  They  also  found  about  five 
hundred  pounds  of  cannon  balls,  which  they 
threw  into  the  Concord  millpond,  and  into 
various  wells.  Then  the  British  divided.  Part  of 
them  remained  to  hold  the  bridge  which  crossed 
the  Concord  River,  while  another  moved  on  to  the 
house  of  Colonel  Barrett,  where  they  expected  to 
find  more  supplies — and  part  remained  in  Con- 
cord. At  Colonel  Barrett's  they  found  some 
wheels  for  gun  carriages,  and  were  in  the  act  of 
burning  them  when  they  heard  firing  at  the  bridge. 
They  promptly  hurried  back.  The  Americans 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        25 

had  formed  on  a  hill  and  were  attacking  the 
bridge.  The  two  parties  united  and  retreated 
to  the  centre  of  the  town,  where  they  joined  the 
third  party. 

About  noon  the  British  set  off  on  their  return  to 
Boston.  They  had  accomplished  all  they  could, 
but  it  was  not  nearly  as  much  as  they  had 
hoped  to  accomplish.  By  this  time  the  whole 
country  was  alarmed,  and  the  country  people 
had  flocked  from  near  and  far.  The  roadsides, 
along  which  the  British  marched,  were  lined 
with  minute-men  and  militia,  who  crouched  behind 
the  famous  stone  walls  of  New  England  or  dodged 
from  tree  to  tree  like  Indians  and  kept  up  an 
incessant  fire  upon  the  British  troops.  The  march 
soon  became  a  retreat,  and  the  English  commander 
tried  to  protect  his  main  body  by  sending  out 
flankers  on  either  side,  just  as  we  do  in  war  in  these 
days.  But  the  flankers  fought  in  vain.  Every  min- 
ute more  patriots  arrived  and  their  fire  grew  hotter 
and  hotter.  The  British  all  the  while  were  be- 
coming more  and  more  fatigued.  The  retreat  soon 
became  a  rout  and  the  rout  almost  a  panic.  At 
Lexington  the  panic  became  an  actual  fact.  The 
regular  troops,  the  pride  of  England,  broke  into  a 
run.  Their  officers  had  to  throw  themselves  in 
front  and  threaten  death  to  the  disobedient  in 
order  to  restore  any  semblance  of  order.  They 
were  on  the  point  of  complete  exhaustion  when 
they  were  met  by  the  reinforcements  Colonel  Smith 


26        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

had  wisely  asked  for  when  he  heard  the  pealing 
of  the  bells  and  the  firing  of  the  guns  the  night  be- 
fore. These  reinforcements  proved  to  be  an  entire 
brigade  of  British  troops  under  the  command  of 
Lord  Percy.  They  formed  a  hollow  square,  and  the 
tired  and  beaten  troops  of  Colonel  Smith  rushed 
within  it  and  flung  themselves  on  the  ground 
to  regain  their  breath. 

Now  even  Lord  Percy  became  alarmed,  and  he 
cut  the  rest  very  short.  The  retreat  was  again 
taken  up  under  much  the  same  circumstances  as 
before.  The  people  of  Charleston  heard  the  sounds 
of  the  approaching  guns.  Messengers  warned 
them  of  the  cruelties  of  the  British,  who  in  a  spirit 
of  revenge  were  burning  houses  along  the  road  and 
murdering  the  helpless  inmates.  Terrorised,  the 
people  of  Charlestown  fled  out  over  the  Neck  into 
the  country.  Pell-mell  into  the  town  ran  the 
British  in  great  confusion  hunting  for  refuge 
from  the  awfu^  storm  of  bullets  the  Americans 
were  sending  after  them.  They  asked  for  shelter, 
and  the  select  men  of  Charlestown  agreed  to 
prevent  further  pursuit  provided  the  British 
would  not  harm  the  town.  Percy  willingly 
agreed  and  the  pursuit  was  ended.  The  Ameri- 
cans set  a  guard  on  Charlestown  Neck,  and  the 
next  day  the  British  crossed  back  to  Boston. 

In  the  meantime  the  news  of  the  battle  was 
being  carried  far  and  wide,  and  the  roads  leading 
to  Boston  were  crowded  with  troops  hastening  to 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        27 

join  the  patriot  forces.  The  battle  of  Lexington  had 
opened  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  farmers  left 
their  ploughshares,  the  mechanics  their  tools — all 
grasped  their  guns  and  flocked  to  Cambridge.  All 
night  and  all  day  they  tramped  the  roads  converg- 
ing towards  Boston. 

At  Lexington  the  British  made  their  first  attack 
on  the  patriots.  At  the  Concord  Bridge  the 
patriots  made  their  first  attack  upon  the  British 
regulars  with  the  terrible  effect  eventually  that 
we  have  seen. 

There  is  a  monument  upon  the  battle-field  of 
Concord,  upon  which  are  carved  four  lines  from 
a  poem  written  by  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson : 

"  By  the  rude  bridge  that  arched  the  flood, 
Their  flag  to  April's  breeze  unfurled, 

Here  once  the  embattled  farmers  stood, 
And  fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world." 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  COUNTRY  RISES— JOHN  STARK  AND  ISRAEL 
PUTNAM — THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL — 
DEATH  OF  WARREN — WASHINGTON  APPOINT- 
ED COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF — HIS  SUBORDINATE 
GENERALS — THE  SIEGE  OF  BOSTON 

THE  news  of  the  battles  of  Lexington  and  Con- 
cord went  to  the  limits  of  the  colonies  as  fast 
as  strong  men  and  good  horses  could  carry  it. 
Everywhere  there  was  a  call  to  arms.  Throughout 
Massachusetts  and  her  neighbouring  colonies, 
wherever  men  were  within  reaching  distance, 
they  flocked  to  the  scene  of  the  immediate  trouble 
as  fast  as  they  could  travel. 

Colonel  John  Stark,  a  New  Hampshire  veteran 
of  the  French  and  Indian  wars,  was  in  his  saddle 
and  headed  for  Boston  within  ten  minutes  after 
hearing  of  the  fights  of  April  I9th.  Israel  Put- 
nam left  his  home  without  stopping  to  change 
his  farmer's  clothes  and  rode  a  hundred  miles  to 
Cambridge  in  twenty-four  hours.  Putnam  was  a 
man  of  wonderful  daring  and  great  impetuosity, 
who  for  ten  years  had  been  a  soldier  of  renown 
in  fighting  against  French,  Indians  and  Spanish. 
He  was  one  of  what  we  will  have  to  call  the  giant 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        29 

heroes  of  the  Revolution.  Immediately  upon 
his  arrival  at  Cambridge  he  was  put  in  command 
by  common  consent.  He  declared  for  war  to  the 
last  extremity  and  was  commissioned  brigadier- 
general  by  the  assembly  of  Connecticut  at  once. 

Patriots  poured  in  from  every  quarter  and  soon 
there  were  ten  thousand  of  them  surrounding 
the  British  forces  in  Boston.  Although  they  were 
simply  undisciplined  farmers,  General  Gage  did 
not  dare  venture  out  of  Boston  to  attack  them. 
He  remembered  very  keenly  the  results  of  that 
disastrous  expedition  he  had  sent  to  Lexington 
and  Concord.  In  fact  he  was  for  a  time  .in  a 
precarious  situation.  But  on  the  25th  of  May 
Generals  Howe,  Clinton  and  Burgoyne  arrived 
from  England  with  reinforcements.  The  British 
now  numbered  five  thousand,  but  they  had  no 
doubt  that  they  were  far  more  than  equal  to  the 
ten  thousand  untrained  patriots,  who  knew  noth- 
ing of  military  evolutions  and  whose  usefulness 
in  war  consisted  only  of  the  ability  to  shoot 
straight. 

"We'll  soon  find  elbow  room,"  said  General 
Burgoyne,  complacently.  They  did  and  that  was 
about  all  they  found. 

General  Gage  was  equally  confident.  He  even 
offered  to  pardon  all  rebels  who  would  return 
to  their  loyalty  with  the  exception  of  Samuel 
Adams  and  John  Hancock.  But  the  Americans 
were  not  seeking  pardon.  The  English  decided 


3o        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

to  fortify  the  hills  of  Charlestown.  Their  plans 
were  promptly  conveyed  to  the  Americans,  and 
Putnam  and  Colonel  Prescott  (an  old  soldier)  were 
anxious  to  steal  a  march  on  the  British  and  fortify 
those  hills  themselves.  Warren  thought  this 
enterprise  foolhardy  and  did  not  agree  to  it.  He 
was  overruled,  however;  and  on  the  night  of  the 
i6th  of  June  twelve  hundred  men  under  the 
leadership  of  Prescott  started  to  build  a  redoubt 
(which  is  a  small  fortification)  on  Bunker  Hill. 
Breed's  Hill,  which  was  still  nearer  Charlestown, 
seemed  to  be  a  better  point  to  fortify,  however, 
and  they  went  on  to  it.  During  the  night  as 
they  worked  they  could  hear  the  British  sentries 
on  the  ships  and  the  sentries  around  Boston 
calling  off  the  hours  of  the  night.  Each  sen- 
tinel's post,  Boy,  has  a  number  and  commencing 
with  No.  i  each  calls  off  the  hour.  All  save  No. 
I  add  "  All's  well "  to  the  call.  No.  I  does  not 
say  this  until  the  call  has  gone  all  around  and  he 
hears  it  from  the  last  sentry,  when  he  announces 
"  All's  well."  This  shows  that  the  sentinels  are 
all  at  their  posts,  all  awake  and  that,  literally,  all 
is  well  on  their  posts.  At  the  break  of  day  the 
sentinel  on  the  British  man-of-war  Lively  dis- 
covered the  works  that  were  being  erected  and 
gave  the  alarm.  The  ship  immediately  com- 
menced to  cannonade  the  redoubt.  The  guns 
woke  the  British  officers,  and  when  they  saw  the 
redoubt  they  could  hardly  believe  their  eyes.  It 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        31 

commanded  Boston  and  the  British  commanders 
saw  that  a  battle  was  inevitable  as  soon  as  the 
Americans  put  their  cannon  in  it.  An  immedi- 
ate assault  was  decided  on.  This  was  called  : 

THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL. 

A  British  battery  on  Copp's  Hill  now  opened 
fire  on  the  low,  grim-looking  redoubt  of  the 
Americans  and  soon  other  ships  and  the  remain- 
ing batteries  of  the  British  joined  in  making  a 
perfect  rain  of  iron  upon  the  redoubt.  The  twelve 
hundred  men,  however,  went  silently  on  digging 
their  fortifications.  Everyone  knew  that  the  first 
actual  battle  of  the  war  was  now  to  take  place. 
Crowds  lined  the  shore  and  the  roofs  of  the  houses 
in  Boston  were  black  with  people  looking  on. 
The  fire  was  too  hot  for  the  Americans  to  com- 
plete their  breastworks  as  far  as  they  deemed  it 
necessary,  so  they  took  advantage  of  a  rail  fence 
that  ran  down  to  the  river  (the  Mystic),  piled 
another  rail  fence  o'n  top  of  it  and  filled  the  spaces 
between  with  hay.  It  was  just  completed  when 
John  Stark  came  up  with  some  New  Hampshire 
and  Connecticut  troops,  and  he  took  his  stand 
behind  this  rude  protection.  At  two  o'clock  War- 
ren arrived.  He  had  not  approved  of  the  plan, 
but  he  had  promised  to  help  defend  the  works. 
Warren  feared  to  risk  the  effect  a  possible  defeat 
would  have  on  the  country.  Putnam  and  Prescott 
took  the  contrary  view  and  thought  only  of  the 


32        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

effect  a  glorious  battle  would  have  on  the  people. 
When  Warren  arrived  Putnam  offered  to  serve 
under  Warren's  orders,  but  Warren  insisted  that 
Putnam  keep  the  command.  Such  was  the  spirit 
of  our  heroes  of  the  Revolution.  How  different 
it  was  from  the  struggle  of  ambitious  men  to 
obtain  high  command  for  their  own  personal 
glory  in  the  late  war  with  Spain  ! 

About  three  o'clock  the  British  line  advanced 
to  the  attack.  Putnam  rode  along  the  American 
lines  and  ordered  his  men  to  hold  their  fire  until 
the  redcoats  were  within  eight  yards  of  the 
redoubt,  and  then  to  fire  low,  not  higher  than  the 
waist-bands  of  the  British.  On  came  the  red- 
coats in  two  dense  columns,  one  commanded  by 
Howe  and  the  other  by  his  subordinate  Pigot. 
Their  flags  were  flying  and  their  drums  were 
beating  and  they  were  a  magnificent  sight  to  the 
onlookers  in  Boston  and  Charlestown.  Their  bay- 
onets flashed  in  the  sunlight  and  they  seemed 
to  have  no  fear  of  ill-success:  Every  now  and 
then  they  halted  in  their  march  to  deliver  a  few 
volleys  at  the  redoubt.  In  the  redoubt,  how- 
ever,  all  was  silence.  Those  undisciplined  farmers 
were  obeying  orders  like  veterans — one  of  the 
remarkable  traits  of  American  volunteers  even  to 
this  day.  At  last  the  redcoats  reached  the  eight- 
rod  dead  line  that  Putnam  had  established. 

"  Fire  "  rang  out  the  sonorous  command  in  the 
redoubt,  and  a  sheet  of  flame  leaped  out  in  an- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        33 

swer  to  it.  The  ranks  of  the  British  fell  in  rows, 
but  those  in  rear  pressed  on.  Rank  after  rank  fell 
like  the  first,  and  at  length,  astounded  and  panic- 
stricken  they  wavered,  broke  and  fled  to  the  foot 
of  the  hill. 

The  patriots  were  wild  with  joy.  Their  cheers 
were  echoed  from  all  sides  and  they  thought  their 
battle  was  completed.  But  such  was  not  the  case. 
At  the  foot  of  the  hill  the  British  officers  could 
be  seen  rallying  their  men  and  forming  them  for 
another  charge.  Putnam,  observing  this,  mounted 
his  horse  and  galloped  back  over  the  Neck  for  re- 
inforcements. But  the  Neck  was  under  too  terri- 
ble a  fire  to  be  faced  by  anyone  but  a  dare  devil 
like  Putnam,  and  he  could  not  urge  any  more 
troops  forward.  So  he  hastened  back  to  the  re- 
doubt. 

When  he  arrived  the  British  columns  were  again 
on  the  march  up  the  hill.  Charlestown  had  now 
been  set  on  fire  by  the  British  in  the  hope  that 
the  smoke  would  settle  upon  the  redoubt  and 
blind  the  eyes  of  the  sure -shooting  patriots.  But 
a  favourable  breeze  carried  the  smoke  seaward.  It 
but  added,  therefore,  to  the  awfulness  and  solem- 
nity of  the  scene.  The  second  assault  of  the 
British  was  but  a  repetition  of  the  first.  Indeed 
they  suffered  even  more  than  they  did  in  the  first 
charge,  and  some  of  the  soldiers,  after  running 
back  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  continued  on  to  the 
boats  and  tried  to  make  their  way  back  to  Boston. 

2 


34        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Their  officers  prevented  them,  however,  and  they 
were  soon  reinforced  by  troops  under  Clinton, 
who  had  been  sent  across  for  that  purpose. 

Again  they  advanced  to  the  charge.  The 
British  had  been  reinforced,  while  the  Americans 
had  failed  to  get  the  help  which  Putnam  went 
after.  This  time  the  British  came  clear  on  to  the 
breastwork,  and  the  two  armies  fought  over  it. 
But  the  ammunition  of  the  Americans  had  given 
out  and  they  were  without  bayonets.  In  this  ex- 
tremity they  fought  with  their  clubbed  muskets 
until  they  were  slowly  driven  from  the  field. 
Stark  behind  his  rail  fence  held  his  ground  long 
enough  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the  rest  and  saved 
the  army  from  capture;  Putnam  rode  among  the 
men  wild  with  anger  and  mortification,  and  tried 
to  get  them  to  rally  on  Bunker  Hill.  But  his 
efforts  were  in  vain.  Warren,  too,  did  his  utmost 
to  stop  the  retreat,  and  standing  between  the 
American  lines  and  the  British,  pointed  to  the 
mottoes  on  their  flags  and  begged  the  troops  to 
stand.  While  he  was  in  this  exposed  position  a 
British  officer  who  knew  him  snatched  a  musket 
from  one  of  his  soldiers,  aimed  at  Warren  and 
killed  him.  The  Americans  retired  to  Winter  and 
Prospect  Hills,  and  night  closed  the  conflict.  Two 
thousand  men  were  left  dead  and  dying  on  the 
battle-field,  of  whom  nearly  fifteen  hundred  were 
English.  Although  the  battle-field  remained  in 
the  hands  of  the  British,  the  battle  was  practi- 


2 
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— 


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vj 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        35 

cally  a  victory  for  the  Americans,  and  was  soon 
recognised  to  be  such  by  the  British  themselves. 
The  news  spread  over  the  country  like  wild-fire, 
and  had  precisely  the  effect  that  Putnam  and 
Prescott  had  predicted  and  struggled  for.  The 
patriots  were  greatly  cheered,  though  all  wept 
over  the  fall  of  Warren,  who  was  one  of  those  un- 
fortunate heroes  who  die  too  soon  to  learn  of  the 
glory  they  have  won.  His  wife  had  died  before 
him,  but  his  orphaned  children  lived  to  know  the 
gratitude  of  the  whole  people. 

In  the  meantime  the  Second  Continental  Con- 
gress met  at  Philadelphia.  On  the  motion  of 
John  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  George  Washing- 
ton, of  Virginia,  was  appointed  Commander-in- 
Chicf  of  all  the  American  forces. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  tell  an  American  boy 
much  about  George  Washington.  They  all  know 
that  he  was  a  man  of  tremendous  will  power, 
strong  passions  and  an  equally  strong  physique. 
In  fact  he  was  a  giant.  He  was  born  in  West- 
moreland County,  Virginia,  on  February  22,  1732, 
and  was  now  forty-three  years  of  age. 

It  is  a  strange  thing,  is  it  not,  Boy,  that  the 
shortest  month  in  the  year  contains  the  birthdays 
of  our  two  most  illustrious  men,  Washington  and 
Lincoln  ?  But  we  could  afford  to  give  the  whole 
twenty-eight  days  of  February  up  to  holiday  sport 
if  each  one  was  the  birthday  of  an  American  like 
them.  Both  of  them  were  of  great  height  and 


36        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

both  were  fitted  exactly  to  the  needs  of  the  peo- 
ple in  their  two  greatest  emergencies.  In  every 
other  way  they  were  different,  however.  Wash- 
ington was  a  descendant  of  very  aristocratic  fam- 
ilies, while  Lincoln's  people  were  obscure.  Wash- 
ington was  of  handsome  appearance  and  of  very 
elegant  manners,  while  Lincoln  was  ungainly  and 
rather  rough.  Washington  held  himself  rather 
above  people  engaged  in  mere  trade,  while  Lincoln 
was  not  only  a  tradesman  at  one  time  in  his  life, 
but  had  been  practically  a  common  labouring  man. 
Again,  Washington  was  a  natural-born  soldier, 
while  Lincoln  was  far  from  that.  Lincoln  needed 
a  complement  in  the  nature  of  a  great  soldier  like 
Grant,  while  Washington  was  all  in  all  himself. 
Lincoln  was  probably  never  under  actual  fire, 
though  he  was  a  volunteer  in  the  Black  Hawk 
war.  Yet  Lincoln  was  killed  by  the  first  shot  that 
was,  in  all  probability,  ever  fired  at  him.  On  the 
contrary  Washington  went  through  several  wars, 
often  exposing  himself  recklessly,  and  was  never 
hit.  Even  the  Indians,  who  made  Washington  a 
mark  and  tried  to  kill  him  at  any  cost,  eventually 
gave  up  in  despair,  concluding  that  he  bore  a 
charmed  life  and  was  especially  protected  by  the 
Great  Spirit.  Washington  was  extremely  fastid- 
ious in  his  dress,  while  Lincoln  was  careless  in 
that  matter. 

It  would   seem,   however,  that  both  of   these 
great  men  had  been  especially  trained  for  the  great 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        37 

part  they  were  to  play  in  their  country's  history. 
Especially  was  this  so  of  Washington.  Long  be- 
fore the  war  of  the  Revolution  was  thought  of, 
Washington  had  earned  a  reputation  as  a  soldier 
of  great  ability,  and  his  fame  as  such  had  even 
gone  abroad  to  other  lands.  After  his  first  battle 
in  the  French  and  Indian  Wars  he  wrote  the 
famous  words  "  I  have  heard  the  bullets  whistle 
and  believe  me,  there  is  music  in  the  sound." 
This  sounded  like  bombast  to  the  people  of  Eng- 
land, and  when  they  heard  that  Washington  was 
appointed  Commander-in-Chief  of  what  they  called 
"  the  rebel  army  "  they  laughed  at  him.  They 
did  not  appreciate  the  fact  that  he  was  a  natural- 
born  soldier,  and  they  did  not  know  the  great 
value  of  his  services  at  Braddock's  memorable  de- 
feat, when  he  saved  the  routed  army  from  utter 
annihilation.  Nor  did  they  realise  that  from  In- 
dian warfare  he  had  learned  a  mode  of  fighting 
which  they  did  not  understand  at  all. 

At  that  time  European  armies  fought  in  dense 
masses  after  the  manner  of  the  soldiers  of  Marl- 
borough  and  Frederick  the  Great.  Indeed  the 
art  of  war  was  not  very  well  developed  in  many 
ways  at  the  time.  The  muskets  of  the  period 
were  not  very  deadly  at  a  distance,  and  troops 
often,  if  not  always,  fought  hand  to  hand.  Two 
armies  would  draw  up  facing  each  other  and  simply 
fight  it  out  until  one  side  or  the  other  gave  way. 
Frederick  the  Great  invented  a  system  of  massing 


38        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

a  greater  number  on  one  end  of  his  line  than  the 
enemy  had,  and  would  break  down  a  flank  by 
sheer  superiority  of  numbers.  The  flank  once 
broken,  he  would  turn  and  roll  his  opponent's 
army  back  on  itself  until  it  became  panic-stricken 
and  fled.  Even  Napoleon  would  not  be  able  to 
understand  the  science  of  war  as  it  is  to-day.  In 
his  time  there  was  no  such  accurate  firing  as  there 
is  to-day.  Men  blazed  away  at  each  other  indis- 
criminately, and  the  shots  fell  where  they  would. 
Our  own  General  Jackson,  at  the  battle  of  New 
Orleans,  gave  the  world  its  first  lesson  in  the  use 
of  actual  trained  marksmen.  His  riflemen  slaugh- 
tered the  regiments  of  Pakenham,  who  fought  in 
dense  masses.  Yet  these  troops  of  Pakenham  had 
fought  under  him  in  the  army  with  which  Welling- 
ton beat  Napoleon's  best  Marshals,  and  eventually 
Napoleon  himself. 

The  patriots  of  the  Revolution  were  probably 
quite  the  equal  of  the  British  soldiers  as  marks- 
men, but  they  were  wholly  without  discipline  and 
so  lacking  in  military  training  that  it  was  impos- 
sible for  them  to  make  a  simple  change  of  front 
on  the  field  of  battle.  In  addition  they  were  now 
too  self-confident.  The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill 
made  them  think  for  a  time  that  it  would  be  easy 
enough  to  whip  the  British  under  anything  like 
equal  conditions,  and  as  a  consequence  they  did 
not  see  the  need  of  the  severe  discipline  neces- 
sary to  an  army. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        39 

On  this  account  it  was  well  that  a  -man  of  the 
foresight,  patience  and  endurance  of  Washington, 
was  put  in  supreme  command.  He  started  for 
Cambridge  on  the  2ist  of  June,  1775.  He  had 
gone  but  part  of  the  way  when  he  met  a  courier, 
who  brought  tidings  of  the  battle  on  the  I7th. 
When  told  how  the  militia  had  behaved  he  was 
greatly  pleased,  and  exclaimed  :  "  The  liberties  of 
the  country  are  safe."  Even  he  did  not  then  re- 
alise the  gigantic  task  he  had  to  perform.  He 
reached  Cambridge  on  the  second  of  July,  and  on 
the  3d  took  command  under  the  great  elm  near 
the  Common  in  Cambridge.  So,  you  see,  Boy,  if 
Washington  had  taken  command  of  the  army  we 
would  celebrate  the  event  on  the  same  day  that 
we  do  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Washington  found  a  motley  assemblage  of  men 
when  he  looked  over  his  army  of  volunteers. 
Coming  from  different  parts  of  the  country  they 
were,  of  course,  dressed  very  differently  from  each 
other.  Some  wore  the  blue  coats  with  yellow 
trimmings  of  the  Continentals  ;  some  had  even  the 
red  uniforms  in  which  they  had  fought  for  the 
English,  in  the  wars  with  the  French.  The  Vir- 
ginians were  dressed  in  the  garb  of  backwoods- 
men, and  the  fishermen  and  sailors  of  the  New 
England  colonies  wore  their  typical  round  jacket. 
Some  even  wore  homespun  or  brown  jeans.  There 
was  great  rivalry  between  these  men  from  different 
sections,  just  as  there  had  always  beeu  rivalries 


40        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

among  the  colonies,  and  a  few  fist  fights  resulted. 
But  as  a  rule  they  realised  that  for  the  first  time 
they  were  united  in  a  common  cause,  and  all  soon 
became  comrades  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word. 

Washington  found  their  camps  very  rude  affairs, 
indeed.  Most  of  the  tents  were  hastily  con- 
structed out  of  sails,  and  there  were  not  nearly 
enough  of  these.  Most  of  the  troops  lived  in 
rude  huts  made  out  of  stone,  brick,  planks — any- 
thing they  could  get.  There  was  little  military 
discipline  and  less  attempt  at  military  instruction. 
The  officers  knew  as  little  about  the  art  of  war  or 
even  ordinary  drilling,  which  is  the  A  BC  of  the 
art  of  war,  as  the  men.  The,  only  troops  who 
were  an  exception  to  this  rule  were  those  of  Rhode 
Island,  headed  by  Nathaniel  Greene.  These  had 
good  tents,  were  properly  equipped  and  main- 
tained a  correct  camp  discipline.  As  Washing- 
ton's first  duty  was  to  teach  just  such  discipline, 
and  bring  order  out  of  the  chaos  he  saw  around 
him,  Greene's  troops  became  an  object  lesson  for 
the  rest  of  the  army. 

Besides  appointing  Washington  Commander- 
in-Chief,  the  Continental  Congress  had  appointed 
four  major-generals  and  eight  brigadier-generals. 
You  know,  Boy,  that  the  next  higher  office  than 
colonel  is  brigadier-general.  The  brigadier  com- 
mands a  brigade,  which  is  composed  of  two  or 
more  regiments.  When  two  or  more  brigades  are 
united  they  form  a  division,  and  are  commanded 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        41 

by  a  major-general.  When  two  or  more  divisions 
are  united  they  form  an  army  corps.  This  corps, 
also,  is  usually  commanded  by  a  major-general. 
When  two  or  more  army  corps  are  united  they 
form  an  "army,"  which  is  usually  designated  by 
some  geographical  distinction,  such  as  the  "  army 
of  the  Tennessee  "  or  the  "  army  of  the  Potomac." 
This  army  may  be  commanded  by  a  major-general, 
a  lieutenant-general,  or  by  the  plain  general — and 
the  plain  rank  of  "  general  "  is  the  highest  in  the 
army.  Since  the  Revolution  the  President  of  our 
country  is  always  the  Commander-in-Chief  both 
of  the  army  and  navy.  Now,  as  he  has  a  great 
many  things  to  do,  he  usually  turns  over  the  com- 
mand of  the  army  to  his  Secretary  of  War.  The 
latter,  as  a  rule,  is  chosen  for  political  rather  than 
military  reasons,  and  as  a  result  the  heads  of  the 
war  and  navy  departments  are  more  apt  to  be 
lawyers  than  soldiers.  Nothing  could  be  worse 
than  an  arrangement  of  this  kind,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  when  the  boys  of  your  age  become 
grown  men  and  voters,  you  will  make  some  change 
in  the  arrangement  of  affairs.  Even  at  the  present 
day  a  lawyer  is  at  the  head  of  the  war  department. 
He  knows  nothing  whatever  of  military  affairs, 
and  yet  the  country  is  at  war  in  the  Philippines. 
It  reminds  one,  Boy,  of  the  opera  Pinafore,  where 
one  of  the  principals  became  ruler  "  —  of  the 
Queen's  navee  "  because  for  years  he  had  polished 
up  the  handle  ("  —  so  carefullee  ")  of  the  ttg  front 


42        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

door  that  gave  entrance  to  the  office  of  the  law- 
yers for  whom  he  worked.  Once  in  our  short  his- 
tory a  man  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
who  had  never  been  on  a  ship  in  his  life.  On  his 
first  visit  to  a  man-of-war  he  saw  that  it  was  not 
solid  like  the  toy  boats  he  used  to  cut  out  of  a 
shingle  when  he  was  a  boy,  and  he  exclaimed  in 
astonishment,  "My,  it's  hollow,"  to  the  great 
amusement  of  the  naval  officers  who  surrounded 
him. 

But  to  return  to  Washington  and  his  patriots : 
— the  officers  appointed  major-generals  were 
Israel  Putnam,  Artemas  Ward,  Charles  Lee  and 
Philip  Schuyler.  The  brigadier-generals  were 
Seth  Pomeroy,  Richard  Montgomery,  William 
Heath,  Joseph  Spencer,  David  Wooster,  John 
Thomas,  John  Sullivan  and  Nathaniel  Greene.  In 
their  respective  grades  they  ranked  in  the  order 
named.  Washington  himself  was  a  major-general 
as  well  as  commander-in-chief.  Of  these  General 
Ward  resigned  in  less  than  a  year,  though  he 
commanded  the  right  wing  of  Washington's  army 
during  the  siege  of  Boston.  He  was  a  lawyer  and 
a  man  of  incorruptible  integrity,  but  not  a  soldier 
of  any  great  attainments.  General  Heath  served 
during  the  entire  war,  but  did  not  get  into  the 
thick  of  the  conflict.  He  was  a  man  of  ability, 
however.  He  had  a  command  under  Washing, 
ton  during  the  latter's  famous  retreat  through 
New  j^ork,  and  commanded  the  troops  in  New 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        43 

York  while  Washington  was  in  the  New  Jersey 
campaigns.  Later  he  took  command  of  Boston 
and  had  charge  of  the  prisoners  captured  when 
Burgoyne  surrendered  and  was  again  put  in 
command  of  the  Highlands  when  Washington 
was  besieging  Cornwallis.  General  Thomas  was 
a  veteran  of  the  French  and  Indian  wars.  He 
served  during  the  siege  of  Boston,  and  after- 
wards accompanied  Montgomery's  expedition  to 
Canada.  On  the  death  of  Montgomery  he 
succeeded  to  the  command,  but  could  not  get  on 
with  General  Arnold  and  the  latter  left  him. 
He  was  eventually  obliged  to  retreat  from  Canada. 
On  the  retreat  he  was  taken  with  the  smallpox 
and  died.  General  Wooster  also  took  part  in  the 
invasion  of  Canada.  After  the  failure  of  the 
expedition  he  took  command  of  the  militia  of 
Connecticut  and  died  heroically  at  the  head  of 
his  men  when  the  traitor  Arnold  attacked 
Danbury.  Some  of  the  other  brigadier-generals 
rose  to  high  position  during  the  war,  and  of  them 
I  will  tell  you  later.  Of  these  Greene  is  the  most 
conspicuous  example.  He  was  the  lowest  rank- 
ing brigadier-general  but  eventually  became  the 
greatest  general  of  the  war,  save  only  Washington. 
Had  the  latter  been  killed  during  the  war  Greene 
would  probably  have  taken  his  place  at  the  head 
of  the  army. 

In   addition  to  these  generals    Horatio  Gates 
was  made  Adjutant  to  the  army  with  the  rank  of 


44        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

brigadier-general.  Of  him  also  there  is  much  yet 
to  be  said.  Of  course  there  were  many  more 
major-generals  and  brigadier-generals  appointed 
from  time  to  time  during  the  war. 

The  worst  disappointment  Washington  received 
when  he  took  command  at  Cambridge  was  the 
discovery  of  the  fact  that  the  army  was  very  short 
of  powder.  He  had  been  told  that  there  were 
three  hundred  barrels  of  it  on  hand.  He  found 
that  there  were  actually  but  thirty.  Many  of  his 
cannon,  too,  were  useless.  Under  such  circum- 
stances Washington  could  not  take  the  offensive 
against  the  British  in  Boston.  People  wondered 
why  he  did  not  drive  them  out,  but  Washington 
would  not  tell  the  reason.  He  did  not  propose 
to  let  the  British  learn  the  secret,  for  if  they  had 
known  it  they  would  have  attacked  him  and 
driven  him  away.  In  fact  the  British  generals 
were  afterwards  severely  criticised  for  not  doing 
this.  The  months  passed  by  in  the  meantime, 
and  the  people  became  impatient.  It  is  always 
the  way  in  war.  The  stay-at-homes  lose  control 
of  their  nerves  and  patience  and  hysterically  cry 
for  an  immediate  victory.  Such  was  the  case  in 
our  civil  war.  The  people  of  the  North  demanded 
action  so  strenuously  that  General  McDowell  was 
at  length  obliged  to  yield  to  them  and  fought  the 
first  battle  of  Bull  Run  when  he  was  unprepared 
to  do  so.  Even  then  he  was  beaten  by  the  ac. 
cHental  arrival  of  Confederate  reinforcements. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        45 

This  made  him  a  victim  of  circumstances  and  he 
deserves  the  greatest  sympathy.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  generals  in  the  North,  but  the 
loss  of  this  battle  made  the  people  lose  confidence 
in  him.  The  authorities  say  that  he  planned  the 
battle  as  well  as  Napoleon  could  have  planned  it, 
and  he  had  turned  the  enemy's  left  wing  and  was 
on  the  [Joint  of  driving  them  from  the  field  when 
the  reinforcements  falling  upon  his  undisciplined 
men  from  the  rear  threw  them  into  a  panic.  There 
was  a  similar  feeling  when  the  war  with  Spain 
occurred,  and  but  for  it  our  troops  would  have 
gone  to  Cuba  better  supplied.  When  you  are  a 
man,  Boy,  if  the  country  is  unfortunate  enough  to 
get  into  a  war,  use  your  influence  with  the  people 
against  this  foolish  impatience  which  has  always 
handicapped  our  generals. 

Washington  was  the  kind  of  man  who  could 
not  be  disturbed  by  the  clamours  of  the  people, 
however,  and  he  waited  until  he  was  ready. 
Fortune  favoured  him.  Ethan  Allen  captured  the 
fort  at  Ticonderoga  and  with  it  large  supplies  of 
cannon,  mortars,  howitzers,  lead  and  flints,  as  well 
as  powder.  This  was  quite  a  feat,  you  may  be 
sure.  Allen,  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty  men,  surprised  the  fort,  drove  the  sentry 
away  after  his  gun  had  failed  to  explode,  and 
running  to  the  room  where  the  British  com- 
mander was  sleeping  demanded  the  immediate 
surrender  of  the  fort  "In  the  name  of  the  great 


46        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress."  This 
made  Allen  at  once  a  prominent  man,  but  while 
with  the  army  of  Montgomery  in  the  invasion  of 
Canada  he  carelessly  permitted  himself  to  be 
captured.  He  was  shipped  to  England  a  prisoner 
in  irons,  and  was  not  exchanged  until  1778.  He 
was  then  appointed  a  brigadier-general,  but  per- 
formed no  active  military  service  after  his  pro- 
motion. 

His  capture  of  military  supplies,  however,  was  a 
windfall.  Washington  immediately  sent  Henry 
Knox  to  bring  the  much-needed  stores  to  Cam- 
bridge. Knox  had  a  hard  time  getting  means  of 
transportation,  but  eventually  he  made  strong 
sleds  (it  being  winter  time)  and  with  eighty  yoke 
of  oxen  succeeded  after  many  difficulties  in  get- 
ting them  to  Cambridge  in  February  of  1776.  In 
the  meantime  Washington  occupied  his  army  by 
throwing  up  fortifications  around  Boston.  When 
they  were  completed  he  had  a  line  of  defences 
nearly  nine  miles  in  length,  which  stretched  from 
the  Mystic  River  to  Dorchester  Neck.  This  com- 
pletely shut  up  the  British  in  Boston,  though  they 
could  escape  by  sea  at  any  time.  Unfortunately 
the  colonies  did  not  at  that  time  have  any  navy. 

The  British  had  a  hard  time  of  it  in  Boston, 
however.  Food  was  scarce  and  fuel  scarcer.  Pork 
and  beans  was  their  staple  dish.  They  had  little 
or  no  fresh  meat.  General  Gage's  wife  was  an 
American  and  Putnam  sent  her  fresh  meat  for 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        47 

her  own  table  several  times.  This  may  seem  a 
queer  thing  to  do  considering  the  circumstances. 
But  in  some  way  or  other  Washington  always 
heard  promptly  of  all  of  General  Gage's  plans, 
and  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  wife  of  the 
English  general  was  the  source  of  his  information. 
Early  in  the  winter,  however,  General  Gage  was 
recalled  to  England,  and  General  Howe  was 
placed  in  command.  He  was  considered  a  more 
aggressive  commander  than  Gage,  but  did  nothing 
except  wait  for  an  attack  from  Washington. 

When  Knox  arrived  with  the  cannon,  the  latter 
immediately  mounted  the  guns  in  the  batteries  he 
had  erected  and  fired  some  shots  into  Boston  to 
alarm  the  British.  Then  he  began  fortifying 
points  still  nearer  to  Boston.  On  the  5th  of 
March  he  fortified  Dorchester  Heights.  It  was 
the  anniversary  of  the  Boston  Massacre  which 
made  the  Americans  work  with  a  redoubled  will. 
In  one  night  they  threw  up  intrenchments  as  they 
had  previously  at  Bunker  Hill,  and  at  daybreak 
the  astonished  English  beheld  two  forts  looking 
down  upon  them. 

"  The  rebels  have  done  more  in  one  night  than 
my  whole  army  would  have  accomplished  in  a 
month,"  exclaimed  Howe.  The  British  bom- 
barded the  works,  but  did  not  succeed  in  driving 
the  Americans,  who  were  still  at  work,  away. 
Washington  expected  that  the  British  would 
attack  the  works  as  soon  as  they  saw  them,  and 


48        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

was  prepared  for  a  battle.  If  the  British  did 
attack  them  it  was  planned 'that  Putnam  was  to 
cross  the  Charles  River  and  take  Boston  while  part 
of  the  British  were  away  making  this  attack.  But 
the  British  were  slow.  Howe  decided  to  make  a 
night  attack.  But  a  furious  storm  arose,  the  surf 
ran  high  and  the  boats  could  not  make  a  landing. 
The  storm  continued  through  the  following  day, 
and  by  the  time  it  had  ceased  the  American 
works  were  too  strong  to  be  taken  by  assault. 

The  British  now  began  to  think  seriously  of 
getting  away  from  Boston.  There  was  no  telling 
what  this  energetic  American  general  might  do 
next,  and  it  would  not  do  to  have  the  king's  fine 
army  captured.  They  did  not  care  to  be  disturbed 
while  leaving,  either,  for  that  might  result  in  great 
loss  to  them  ;  so  they  had  the  Tories  of  the  town 
send  a  letter  to  Washington  stating  that  if  he 
permitted  the  British  troops  to  leave  in  peace 
they  would  spare  Boston,  but  if  he  attacked  them 
while  they  were  embarking  on  their  vessels  they 
would  set  the  town  on  fire.  Washington  did  not 
reply  but  he  ordered  the  firing  to  cease  in  his 
batteries  and  waited  for  the  British  to  move  out. 
He  was  well  content  to  capture  the  town  and 
drive  the  British  away. 

Howe  did  not  move  out,  however,  so  Washing- 
ton gave  him  a  huge  prod  by  erecting  a  fortifica- 
tion on  another  hill  called  Nook's  Hill,  from 
which  his  cannon  could  rake  the  streets  of  the 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        49 

city.  This  was  on  the  i6th  of  March,  and  then 
the  English  began  to  make  haste  about  moving. 
On  the  i /th  they  boarded  their  boats,  accompanied 
by  many  Tories  with  their  families.  When  they 
retreated  from  Charlestown  they  abandoned  the 
redoubt  they  had  captured  on  Breed's  Hill,  leav- 
ing dummies  made  of  straw  to  represent  their 
sentinels.  The  patriots  discovered  the  trick 
shortly  and  immediately  took  the  redoubt  and 
followed  on  into  Boston.  Here  the  streets  were 
strewn  with  "  crow's  feet  "  to  bother  the  pursuers. 
These  crow's  feet  are  iron  prongs.  To-day  every 
farmer  has  a  better  thing  than  any  number  of 
"  crow's  feet  "  in  his  barbed  wire  fences.  These 
are  the  worst  things  ever  invented  to  bother  an 
army  while  marching.  They  were  invented  by 
Americans  and  were  first  used  for  military  pur- 
poses against  the  Americans  in  the  war  with  Spain. 

The  British  sailed  first  to  Halifax  and  then  to 
New  York,  and  Washington  took  full  possession 
of  Boston,  which  was  not  thereafter  disturbed 
during  the  war. 

No  one  could  now  sing  the  praises  of  Washing- 
ton too  highly.  The  whole  country  was  filled  with 
joy  at  his  success,  and  Congress  presented  him  with 
a  large  gold  medal  in  recognition  of  his  services. 

A   few  months  later,  on  the  4th  of  July,  the 
Declaration    of    Independence    was   signed    and 
given   to    the    world.     Thereafter    the    colonies 
began  to  call  themselves  States. 
4 


CHAPTER  IV 

BENEDICT       ARNOLD    —      HIS    TROUBLES      WITH 
ALLEN — INVASION      OF       CANADA  —  TERRIBLE 
'    MARCH  THROUGH  THE  WILDERNESS 

DURING  the  siege  of  Boston  other  events  were 
happening.  One  of  these  was  the  capture  of  Ti- 
conderoga  by  Ethan  Allen,  where,  Boy,  you  will 
remember  a  number  of  cannon  and  general  mili- 
tary stores  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans. 
Now  it  will  be  interesting  to  you  to  watch  how 
men  come  into  prominence  in  this  war  which 
had  just  begun,  notice  their  character  and  the  in- 
fluence their  personality  had  upon  events  of  the 
war. 

This  man  Ethan  Allen  was  a  strong,  headlong 
man  to  whom  fear  was  utterly  unknown.  He  was 
heart  and  soul  with  the  American  cause,  and  was 
well  suited  to  what  we  call  to-day  "  guerilla"  war- 
fare. He  could  make  a  dashing  exploit  with  a  few 
men,  but  he  was  without  the  military  training  or 
the  naturally  scientific  mind  to  handle  a  large 
body.  War  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  fighting.  It  is  a 
science.  Allen  was  a  good  fighter  at  the  head  of  a 
few  men.  But  even  in  guerilla  warfare  he  was,  as 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        51 

you  have  been  told,  too  rash,  and  was  captured 
through  the  fault  of  his  own  rashness.  His  fail- 
ings were  well  understood,  and  that  is  probably 
the  reason  why  he  did  not  take  much  of  a  part  in 
the  war  after  his  exchange  had  been  effected. 

But  side  by  side  with  Allen  when  -he  entered 
the  fort  at  Ticonderoga  was  another  man  who  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  characters  the  Revolu- 
tion brought  forth.  We  can  hardly  call  him  a 
Hero  of  the  Revolution,  however,  though  he, 
too,  was  an  utter  stranger  to  fear,  had  the  qual- 
ities of  a  general  which  Allen  lacked,  and  fought 
and  bled  for  America.  The  name  of  this  man  ? 

Well,  in  the  chapel  of  the  military  academy  at 
West  Point,  there  are  a  number  of  shields  com- 
memorating the  names  of  the  generals  of  the  Revo- 
lution. On  one  of  these  shields  the  name  is 
chipped  out.  The  name  thus  erased  as  a  solemn 
warning  to  the  young  men  who  are  being  trained 
to  be  officers  of  the  United  States  army  is 
"  Benedict  Arnold."  And  that  was  the  name  of 
the  man  who  entered  the  gates  of  the  fort  at 
Ticonderoga  side  by  side  with  Ethan  Allen.  You 
guessed  the  name,  of  course,  because  he  was  tthe 
only  traitor  to  the  American  cause  during  the  Rev- 
olution. American  boys  are  brought  up  to  hate 
his  memory,  and  well  they  should  be.  He  not 
only  went  over  to  the  British  for  money  and  an  of- 
fice in  their  army,  but  he  tried  to  betray  some  of 
our  forts  into  their  hands.  Nevertheless  the  man 


52        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

is  to  be  pitied  more  than  hated  at  this  late  day. 
He  had  been  treated  badly  by  the  Continental 
Congress.  He  had  deserved  much  from  the  peo- 
ple, and  he  saw  others  gather  the  laurels  that 
rightfully  belonged  to  him. 

But  he  was  by  no  means  the  only  sufferer  in 
that  and  in  many  other  ways.  There  was  a  course 
open  to  him  both  honourable,  proper  and  sensible. 
He  could  have  resigned  his  commission  and  re- 
tired to  private  life.  Many  other  of  our  revolu- 
tionary generals  either  resigned  or  were  on  the 
point  of  doing  so  several  times.  One  of  the  most 
methodical,  General  Schuyler,  was  time  and  again 
on  the  point  of  resigning.  One  of  the  most  he- 
roic and  at  the  same  time  most  modest,  General 
Montgomery,  put  his  resignation  in  the  hands  of 
his  subordinate  officers  during  his  invasion  of 
Canada,  and  took  it  back  only  at  their  urgent  re- 
quest. One  of  the  most  resolute,  able  and  daring, 
General  Stark,  who  won  one  battle  of  importance 
while  in  command  of  the  Americans  who  fought 
it,  and  was  the  immediate  cause  of  one  of  Wash- 
ington's most  glorious  victories,  actually  did  re- 
sign for  exactly  the  cause  that  angered  Arnold. 
In  our  civil  war  no  less  a  personage  than  General 
Grant  almost  made  up  his  mind  to  resign  under  a 
somewhat  similar  provocation.  Arnold,  however, 
was  too  inflammable.  When  there  was  fighting 
it  seemed  to  be  a  physical  demand  of  his  najure. 
He  craved  excitement  much  as  did  General  Lee, 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        53 

who  was  one  of  the  high  ranking  major-generals 
of  whom  I  shall  tell  you  more  presently. 

Fate,  with  its  strange  perversity,  put  these  two 
men,  Allen  and  Arnold,  side  by  side  at  the  open 
gate  of  Fort  Ticonderoga,  the  first  clean-cut  vic- 
tory of  the  war.  Fate  put  Arnold  constantly  in 
similar  positions  later  in  the  war.  To  his  credit 
it  can  be  said  that  he  seemed  to  have  a  great  re- 
spect for  Washington,  and,  had  he  been  kept  con- 
stantly with  the  main  army  under  Washington's 
immediate  eye,  he  might  have  come  through 
the  war  with  sufficient  honour  to  satisfy  even  his 
ambition. 

Arnold  had  been  an  adventurous  man  from 
youth,  and  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  was 
captain  of  a  company  of  Guards  at  New  Haven. 
The  news  of  the  fighting  at  Boston  brought  the 
townspeople  together  on  the  public  green,  and 
among  them  he  was  the  most  conspicuous.  He 
gathered  together  sixty  volunteers,  took  the  am- 
munition belonging  to  the  town  from  the  select- 
men by  a  show  of  force  and  marched  at  once  to 
Cambridge.  From  the  Massachusetts  Committee 
of  Safety  he  obtained  the  commission  of  Colo- 
nel with  power  to  raise  four  hundred  men  and 
make  an  expedition  against  Ticonderoga.  He 
started  at  once  for  Western  Massachusetts  to  raise 
men  ;  but  on  arriving  at  Stockbridge  learned  to 
his  intense  disappointment  that  another  expedi- 
tion was  ahead  of  him.  This  was  the  expedition 


54        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

headed  by  Ethan  Allen  who  had  been  sent  out 
with  the  same  purpose  by  the  Connecticut 
people.  He  stopped  but  long  enough  to  appoint 
officers  to  recruit  for  him  and  then  posted  on  with 
but  a  servant  after  Allen.  He  caught  up  with  the 
latter  when  they  were  within  a  forced  march  (about 
twenty-five  miles)  of  Ticonderoga.  Here  he  pro- 
duced his  commission  and  demanded  command. 
There  was  trouble  at  once.  Arnold  was  in  the  right 
to  a  certain  extent,  but  he  waived  his  claim  event- 
ually and  suffered  Allen  to  command  while  he 
went  along  as  a  volunteer. 

When  the  fort  was  taken  he  again  claimed 
command,  but  the  Connecticut  Committee  de- 
clared Allen  to  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  gar- 
rison— rather  an  important  name  for  so  small  a 
position,  was  it  not  ?  But  the  colonies  were  but 
just  beginning  to  learn  the  necessity  for  a  more  cen- 
tralised form  of  government,  and  there  was  trouble 
on  account  of  such  conflict  of  authority  for  many 
years  after  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution. 

Arnold  appealed  to  the  legislature  of  Massachu- 
setts, but  before  hearing  from  them  headed  a 
single  company  of  about  fifty  men,  who  had  been 
enlisted  under  his  authority,  and  moved  against 
another  British  outpost  on  the  Sorel  River  called 
St.  John's,  sailing  down  Lake  Champlain  on  a 
schooner.  This  he  captured,  getting  there  just 
ahead  of  the  arrival  of  Allen,  whom  he  met  on  the 
way  back. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        55 

The  Massachusetts  legislature,  hearing  some 
untrue  reports  about  Arnold,  sent  a  committee  to 
inquire  into  his  conduct.  When  they  found  him 
he  was  at  Crown  Point,  which  had  fallen  into 
American  hands  with  Ticonderoga,  busily  prepar- 
ing to  defend  it  against  an  expected  attack  from 
Canada.  He  was  furious  when  he  learned  of  the 
mission  of  the  committee,  and  more  so  when  he 
learned  that  he  was  to  be  put  under  the  command 
of  a  Colonel  Hinman.  So  he  resigned  his  com- 
mand, discharged  his  men  who  sided  with  him, 
and  started  post  haste  for  Cambridge.  The  fact 
was  that  he  had  done  nothing  but  what  his  war- 
rant and  commission  entitled  him  to  do.  He  was 
a  creditor  to  the  Massachusetts  Committee  to  the 
extent  of  five  hundred  dollars  (one  hundred 
pounds),  which  in  those  days  was  a  much  larger 
sum,  comparatively,  than  it  is  to-day  ;  and,  what 
was  worse,  he  ranked  Colonel  Hinman,  and  de- 
clined to  serve  under  a  subordinate  officer.  No 
doubt,  as  early  as  this,  the  seeds  of  his  eventual 
treason  were  sown  by  this  unfortunate  act  of  the 
Massachusetts  legislature.  It  does  seem,  indeed, 
as  though  the  man  could  not  obtain  justice  from 
the  countrymen  he  was  so  anxious  to  serve. 

To  you,  to-day,  Boy,  Canada  seems  like  an- 
other country  ;  and  from  what  you  read  in  the 
papers  and  study  in  "  current  events  "  at  school, 
it  seems  to  be  more  English  than  England  itself. 
In  those  days  it  was  a  province  like  the  rest  of  the 


56        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

colonies,  but  it  was  far  less  English  than  they 
were.  It  had  been  captured  from  the  French  but 
some  years  before,  and  was  garrisoned  in  many 
places  by  English  troops.  The  people  loved  the 
English  even  less  than  our  own  people  did,  but 
Canada  had  been  the  scene  of  warfare  too  long 
for  the  Canadians  to  relish  another  struggle  unless 
they  received  substantial  aid  from  the  Americans. 
It  was  thought  moderately  certain  that  they  would 
rebel,  however,  if  their  English  oppressors  were 
driven  out ;  and  the  Continental  Congress  con- 
cluded to  send  an  expedition  against  Canada.  Be- 
sides gaining  help  from  the  Canadians,  a  successful 
expedition  ot  this  sort  would  protect  the  Americans 
from  any  English  expedition  that  might  easily  be 
•started  from  Canada,  and  also  protect  their  fron- 
tier towns  from  ravages  by  the  Tories  of  Northern 
New  York,  and  the  Indian  allies  of  the  English, 
for  it  was  already  discovered  that  the  heartless 
English  government  meant  to  make  use  of  sav- 
ages in  their  warfare  against  their  own  blood. 
Generals  Schuyler  and  Montgomery  were  already 
planning  an  expedition  by  way  of  Lake  Cham- 
plain  and  Washington  now  conceived  the 
idea  of  sending  another  through  the  north 
woods  of  Maine  against  Quebec.  Even  to-day 
the  northern  portion  of  Maine  is  a  wilderness. 
Imagine,  then,  what  it  must  have  been  in  those 
days.  Such  an  expedition  would  have  the  effect 
of  a  tremendous  surprise  on  the  English  at  Que- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        57 

bee,  and  the  city  would  probably  be  taken  with 
ease,  but  the  difficulty  of  getting  through  those 
woods  seemed  almost  beyond  the  possibility  of 
being  surmounted. 

Washington  was  not  the  man  to  abandon  an 
idea  because  it  seemed  difficult.  He  wanted  only 
a  man  who  would  overcome  obstacles.  Arnold 
was  just  such  a  man.  Washington  knew  that 
nothing  short  of  death  could  stop  him.  More- 
over, Washington  had  a  very  good  opinion  of 
Arnold's  abilities,  and  considered  that  he  had 
been  dealt  with  unfairly.  To  Arnold,  therefore, 
went  the  command.  He  was  given  a  command 
of  eleven  hundred  men,  including  a  battery  of 
artillery  and  a  company  of  Virginia  riflemen,  under 
the  celebrated  Morgan. 

Arnold  was  to  sail  from  Newburyport  to  the 
Kennebec,  ascend  the  latter,  and  strike  across  to 
the  Dead  River,  following  up  the  Dead  to  its 
source.  From  this  point  he  was  to-  cross  the 
watershed  to  the  sources  of  the  Chaudiere,  which 
flows  in  an  opposite  direction  and  enters  the  St. 
Lawrence,  near  Quebec.  In  those  days  the  quick- 
est and  easiest  means  of  travel  were  by  water ; 
and  if  you  will  look  at  the  map  in  your  geography 
you  will  see  that  Washington  had  picked  out, 
what  seems  at  a  glance,  to  be  an  easy  route. 
But  those  rivers  ran  through  a  dense  uninhabited 
forest,  they  were  filled  with  rapids  and  falls — and 
winter  was  approaching. 


58        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

•Washington  expected  that  Arnold  would  finish 
his  journey  before  actual  winter  set  in,  but  the 
difficulties  of  the  task  were  greater  than  he 
imagined.  It  was  not  until  the  I3th  of  Novem- 
ber, in  this  same  wonderful  year  of  1775,  that 
Arnold  was  able  to  transport  his  troops  across  the 
St.  Lawrence.  Even  then  he  got  only  five  hun- 
dred over,  for  immediate  attack.  Not  the  whole 
of  the  remainder  had  to  remain  on  the  south  shore, 
however,  for  he  had  been  deserted  during  the 
march  by  Colonel  Enos  and  his  command.  He 
had,  however,  already  accomplished,  perhaps,  the 
most  wonderful  march  recorded  in  history.  He 
had  taken  an  invading  army  through  two  hun- 
dred miles  of  wilderness,  carrying  with  him  his 
artillery  and  stores,  with  no  other  means  of  trans- 
portation than  birch-bark  canoes,  and  the  backs 
of  his  men.  Even  the  canoes  had  to  be  carried 
at  times.  Provisions  gave  out,  the  faithful  dogs 
that  accompanied  the  men  had  to  be  killed  and 
eaten,  and,  in  the  last  extremity,  the  troops  even 
boiled  their  moose-hide  moccasins  for  such  nour- 
ishment as  could  be  extracted  from  them.  Yet, 
in  spite  of  all,  this  indomitable  traitor,  this  man 
who  never  gave  up  anything  but  his  country,  suc- 
ceeded. 

It  seems  unfair  that  after  accomplishing  so 
much  Arnold  should  eventually  fail.  Nor  would 
he  have  failed  but  for  just  such  a  piece  of  treach- 
ery as  he  was  later  guilty  of  himself.  He  had 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        59 

despatched  letters  to  Generals  Schuyler  and 
Montgomery  (having  learned  that  they  were 
nearing  Montreal)  by  two  Indians.  These  Indians 
played  him  false  and  took  the  letters  to  Caramhe, 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Province  of  Canada, 
who  immediately  had  all  boats  on  the  south  shore 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  removed,  and  drew  in  rein- 
forcements from  Nova  Scotia.  Arnold  had  to 
procure  boats.  A  storm  set  in  after  he  had 
obtained  them.  In  the  meantime  Quebec  was 
reinforced,  also,  by  a  force  under  a  Scotch  veteran 
named  Maclean,  and  a  frigate  and  sloop  of  war 
undertook  to  prevent  the  crossing.  In  spite  of 
all,  Arnold  got  over  with  his  five  hundred  men, 
scaled  the  precipice,  and  stood  on  the  Heights  of 
Abraham,  where  Wolfe  and  Montcalm  had  fought 
for  the  possession  of  the  same  city  years  before. 

Had  Arnold  made  an  immediate  assault  in  the 
early  morning  he  might  have  taken  the  city. 
Quebec  was  a  walled  town,  but  the  gate  of  St. 
John's  was  open,  the  guard  boats  not  having  as 
yet  alarmed  the  city.  His  subordinate  officers 
were  not  in  favour  of  so  rash  a  proceeding,  however. 
So  Arnold  made  the  mistake  of  demanding  the 
surrender  of  the  place,  making  at  the  same  time 
as  imposing  a  show  of  his  force  as  he  could.  He 
counted,  also,  on  the  support  of  the  French  in- 
habitants of  Quebec.  But  the  latter  abjectly 
promised  to  aid  the  lieutenant-governor,  and  he 
was  also  supported  by  the  sturdy  Maclean.  He 


60        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

would  not  surrender.  Neither  would  he  come 
out  from  his  entrenchments  and  fight  a  pitched 
battle,  as  Arnold  hoped,  though  he  meditated 
doing  so  after  he  had  been  again  reinforced  by 
the  sailors  and  marines  from  the  ships.  So  after 
several  days  of  waiting  before  the  walls,  Arnold, 
hearing  of  Montgomery's  capture  of  Montreal, 
sent  to  the  latter  for  assistance  and  drew  back 
about  twenty  miles  to  await  his  arrival.  On  the 
march  to  the  new  camp,  Arnold  passed  a  boat 
going  towards  Quebec  bearing  Carleton,  the 
Governor,  who  was  fleeing  from  Montgomery. 
This  boat  had  put  in  at  the  very  point  Arnold 
had  chosen  for  a  camping  ground.  Had  he  been 
there  a  day  earlier  he  would  probably  have  cap- 
tured Carleton,  and  by  doing  so  might  have  com- 
pelled the  latter  to  surrender  the  city.  At  any 
rate  it  would  have  left  a  much  weaker  man  in 
command  to  eventually  thwart  the  combined 
forces  of  Montgomery  and  Arnold.  Twice, 
therefore,  had  Fate  played  Arnold  a  cruel  trick. 
After  such  superhuman  effort  he  seems  to  have 
deserved  much.  We  are  warranted  in  wondering, 
Boy.  if  the  Almighty,  who  rules  our  destinies,  was 
not  preventing  Arnold  from  gaining  too  much 
renown  in  the  early  part  of  the  war  of  the  infant 
United  States  of  America  for  independence.  Had 
Arnold  been  able  to  betray  a  greater  command  to 
the  British  in  later  years  it  is  doubtful  whether 
our  independence  would  have  been  achieved. 


CHAPTER  V 

SCHUYLER  AND  MONTGOMERY — MONTGOMERY'S 
CAPTURE  OF  ST.  JOHN'S — THE  STORMING  OF 
QUEBEC 

WE  must  now  go  back  to  the  summer  of  1775 
once  more,  and  consider  the  other  invasion  of 
Canada. 

This  was  the  original  project  of  both  Ethan 
Allen  and  Arnold  to  move  against  Montreal  by 
way  of  Lake  Champlain.  It  was  carried  out, 
however,  by  entirely  different  men,  and  I  shall 
therefore  have  to  tell  you  about  some  other 
Revolutionary  Heroes. 

Throughout  New  York  there  were  many  Tories. 
The  colony  was  conquered  from  the  Dutch,  and 
the  English  settlers  were  of  more  recent  arrival 
than  in  the  New  England  colonies,  and  depended 
more  upon  the  home  government  to  support  them 
against  the  original  settlers.  Indeed,  had  it  not 
been  for  three  eminent  New  York  men  whose 
names  are  familiar  to-day,  it  is  doubtful  if  New 
York  would  have  followed  the  other  colonies  into 
the  war  for  independence.  These  men  were 

Schuyler,  Clinton  and  Woodhull,  of  whom  the 

61 


62        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

two  first  named  were  the  chief  supporters  of  the 
new  cause,  one  representing  the  Dutch  settlers 
and  the  other  the  Americans.  The  city  of  New 
York,  itself,  was  filled  with  Tories,  and'there  were 
many  in  the  upper  part  of  the  colony  ;  and  these 
latter,  in  alliance  with  Canadians  and  Indians, 
threatened  the  people  of  New  Hampshire  and 
New  England  generally. 

Philip  Schuyler  was  a  member  of  the  second 
Continental  Congress,  and  was  one  of  the  four  orig- 
inal major-generals  appointed  by  that  body.  So  he 
became  the  natural  commander  of  the  patriots  in 
New  York.  This  gave  him  control  of  the  forts 
captured  by  Allen  and  Arnold  and,  logically,  of 
the  expedition  against  Montreal.  He  was  a  man 
of  fine  education,  a  civil  and  military  engineer, 
and  had,  like  the  others,  military  experience  in  the 
training  school  of  the  patriots,  the  French  and 
Indian  wars. 

He  was  ordered  to  invade  Canada  in  Septem- 
ber, but  fell  sick  and  had  to  turn  the.  command  of 
the  expedition  over  to  General  Montgomery.  He 
then  transferred  his  headquarters  to  Albany  and 
held  the  Tories  and  Indians  in  check,  protected 
the  line  of  communications  of  Montgomery's 
army  and  forwarded  supplies  to  it. 

Richard  Montgomery  was  a  native  of  Ireland, 
and  had  been  an  officer  in  the  English  army. 
After  serving  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars  with 
the  regular  English  army  (and  thus  obtaining  a 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        63 

knowledge  of  the  country  he  was  later  to  operate 
in),  he  conducted  himself  with  great  gallantry  in 
an  English  expedition  against  the  French  and 
Spanish  West  Indies.  He  afterwards  resigned 
his  commission  in  the  English  army,  and,  emigrat- 
ing to  America  in  1772,  became  a  farmer  in 
Rhinebeck.  He  was  a  handsome,  quiet,  dignified 
man,  and  sided  at  once  with  the  colonies  in  their 
struggle  against  the  crown. 

Congress  made  him  a  brigadier-general.  He 
had  no  desire,  he  said,  to  abandon  the  quiet 
scheme  of  life  he  had  prescribed  for  himself.  But, 
to  use  his  own  words,  "  the  will  of  an  oppressed 
people,  compelled  to  choose  between  liberty  and 
slavery,  must  be  obeyed."  So  he  became  one  of 
Schuyler's  two  brigadier-generals.  The  other  was 
Wooster. 

Schuyler's  army  for  the  invasion  of  Canada  was 
to  consist  of  about  three  thousand  troops.  While 
Schuyler  was  making  his  preparations  he  sent 
Montgomery  on  with  one  thousand  men  to  Crown 
Point.  Here  Montgomery  learned  that  Governor 
Carleton  of  Canada  was  making  preparations  to 
place  several  armed  ships  on  Lake  Champlain, 
and  Montgomery  pushed  on  to  the  upper  end  of 
the  lake  where  it  emptied  into  the  Sorel  (or 
Richelieu)  River,  to  prevent  Carleton  from  doing 
so.  About  this  time  Schuyler  fell  sick,  and  the 
command  of  the  whole  expedition  fell  upon 
Montgomery.  Without  waiting  for  his  entire 


64        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

army  to  collect  Montgomery  pushed  on  down  the 
Sorel  River  to  Fort  St.  John,  which  was  held  by  a 
British  garrison  nearly  as  large  as  the  army  Mont- 
gomery now  had  with  him.  He  made  little  prog- 
ress, therefore.  His  ammunition  was  scanty 
and  his  artillery  ineffective.  Moreover,  a  mutiny 
broke  out  in  his  army  which  would  have  broken 
it  up  but  for  Montgomery's  eloquence  and  noble 
conduct.  To  get  ammunition  Montgomery  sent 
a  small  force  to  capture  Fort  Chambly,  which  was 
situated  still  further  down  the  river  and  which 
was  but  feebly  garrisoned.  In  this  way  he  ob- 
tained one  hundred  and  twenty  barrels  of  powder, 
and  Fort  St.  John  soon  fell  into  his  hands  with 
its  thousand  prisoners  and  munitions  of  war. 

It  was  a  very  plucky  fight  the  Americans  were 
making,  wasn't  it,  Boy?  They  had  to  capture 
their  powder  and  cannon  and  most  of  their  small 
arms  from  the  British  in  order  to  fight  the  British. 
It  is  quite  a  matter  of  wonder  how  it  was  done. 

Montgomery  now  heard  that  Arnold  with  his 
small  army  was  before  Quebec  just  as  Arnold  had 
heard  that  Montgomery  had  captured  St.  John's. 
The  country  was  delighted  with  Montgomery's 
success  at  St.  John's  and  Congress  appointed  him 
a  major-general. 

Montgomery  immediately  pushed  forward  to 
Montreal  and  captured  it  without  trouble,  at  the 
same  time  gaining  mastery  over  a  large  part 
of  Canada.  Here  he  received  Arnold's  message 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        65 

telling  of  his  repulse  at  Quebec  and  of  the  desti- 
tution of  Arnold's  army.  Montgomery  at  once 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  but  three  hundred  men 
and  pushed  on  to  Arnold's  relief  over  the  frozen 
ground  and  through  the  driving  snow,  for  you 
will  remember  that  it  was  now  November  and  that 
means  the  full  blast  of  winter  in  Canada.  It  is  a 
pitiful  picture  we  have  here,  of  Montgomery's 
tall,  handsome  form  pushing  ahead  through  the 
snow  storms  leading  and  cheering  on  his  little 
band  of  rescuers  and  going  from  a  victory  that 
had  made  him  the  darling  of  the  country  to  defeat 
and  certain  death. 

It  was  the  heart  of  winter  when  he  joined 
Arnold,  and  when  he  did  so  these  two  men,  so 
equally  brave  and  yet  so  entirely  different,  cast 
about  for  some  means  to  capture  the  city. 

They  did  not  feel  that  they  were  strong  enough 
to  carry  Quebec  and  they  did  not  have  a  force 
strong  enough  to  make  a  regular  siege  of  the 
place.  Their  artillery  consisted  of  only  six  can- 
non and  a  howitzer ;  and  when  they  placed  these 
in  a  battery  erected  only  forty  rods  from  the  walls 
of  the  town  they  utterly  failed  to  make  any  effect 
upon  it.  There  was  now  less  hope  than  ever  of 
help  from  within  the  town,  for  when  Carleton  had 
got  safely  into  it  the  inhabitants  who  were  friendly 
to  the  colonists  and  who  hated  and  feared  Carle- 
ton  went  out  into  the  surrounding  country  in  a 
body. 
5 


66        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

In  the  meantime  the  men  began  to  suffer  from 
the  cold.  They  were  insufficiently  clad,  and  every 
day  the  cold  was  growing  more  intense  and  the 
snow  deeper.  To  add  to  the  distress  smallpox 
broke  out  in  the  American  camp.  When  men 
were  attacked  by  it  they  wore  little  sprigs  of  hem- 
lock in  their  hats.  Every  day  the  sprigs  increased 
in  number,  and  the  men  were  thrown  into  a  panic 
by  the  plague  that  had  come  upon  them.  Oh,  if 
Arnold  had  only  followed  his  own  inclination  to 
assault  Quebec  at  once  that  first  morning  when  he 
stood  with  his  five  hundred  men  on  the  Heights 
of  Abraham,  instead  of  listening  to  the  advice  of 
his  council  of  war  !  In  the  meantime  there  was 
another  mutiny  which  Montgomery  had  to  quell, 
and  at  .length  he  saw  clearly  that  he  must  take  the 
town  by  assault  at  once  or  retreat.  Men  and  offi- 
cers alike  were  for  making  the  assault,  and  Mont- 
gomery gave  the  orders  to  make  it  on  the  night 
of  the  last  day  of  that  year  full  of  importance  to 
America,  1775 — that  year  which  had  brought  such 
an  auspicious  opening  to  the  colonies  in  their 
struggle  for  independence  and  which  was  to  end 
so  disastrously. 

THE  STORMING  OF  QUEBEC. 

Quebec  was  divided  into  two  portions — the  up- 
per and  lower  towns.  It  was  expected  that  the 
English  garrison  would  expect  an  attack  upon  the 
upper  town,  exposed  as  it  was  more  naturally. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        67 

Montgomery  decided,  therefore,  merely  to  make  a 
feint  against  this  part  of  the  city.  Colonel  Living- 
ston was  to  make  an  attack  on  the  gate  of  St. 
John's  and  set  fire  to  it.  At  the  same  time  Major 
Brown  was  to  make  a  feint  on  the  bastion  of 
Cape  Diamond  at  the  other  end  of  the  upper  town. 
It  was  expected  that  these  two  false  attacks  would 
draw  the  greater  part  of  the  garrison  into  the 
upper  town.  In  the  meantime  Arnold  with  three 
hundred  and  fifty  of  his  own  men  and  a  small 
body  under  Captain  Lamb,  who  had  handled  the 
artillery  during  the  various  futile  bombardments 
with  great  skill,  was  to  attack  the  lower  town  on 
the  side  furthest  from  the  river ;  while  Montgom- 
ery with  the  remainder  was  to  pass  below  the 
bastion  attacked  by  Brown  and  defiling  along  the 
river  attack  the  lower  town  from  that  side: 

All  four  attacks  were  to  be  made  simultaneously 
at  the  discharge  of  a  signal  rocket.  At  two  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  3ist  of  December  the 
various  bodies  repaired  to  their  stations.  Mis- 
takes began  to  occur  immediately.  The  rockets 
were  discharged  too  soon  and  Livingston  failed  to 
make  his  attack  on  the  gate  of  St.  John's.  Mont- 
gomery  descended  from  the  heights  successfully 
and  surprised  the  first  of  the  Canadian  barriers 
after  a  march  along  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 
He  pressed  on  to  a  blockhouse  beyond.  The 
defenders  of  the  latter  seemed  to  be  panic-stricken 
for  a  time,  and  Montgomery,  thinking  victory 


68        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

already  in  his  grasp,  shouted  :  "  Push  on,  my  brave 
fellows.  Quebec  is  ours."  When  within  forty 
yards  of  the  blockhouse,  however,  the  battery  it 
contained  suddenly  opened  fire  and  Montgomery 
and  one  of  his  aides  fell  dead.  The  commander 
of  the  New  York  troops,  Captain  Cheeseman,  re- 
ceived a  canister  shot  through  the  body  and  fell 
dead  also  while  trying  to  push  on.  The  next 
ranking  officer  was  in  the  rear  and  Colonel  Camp- 
bell, Montgomery's  quartermaster-general,  ordered 
a  retreat.  Montgomery's  column  therefore  aban- 
doned the  field,  leaving  its  dead  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  Young  Aaron  Burr,  who 
though  a  mere  boy  was  an  aide  on  Montgomery's 
staff,  tried  to  carry  back  the  body  of  his  dead 
general,  but  was  forced  to  abandon  it  or  be  cap- 
tured himself.  One  resolute  rush  after  the  dis- 
charge of  that  artillery  and  the  blockhouse  would 
have  been  captured,  Montgomery  would  have 
entered  the  town  and  by  aiding  Arnold  probably 
have  captured  it.  As  it  was,  the  retreat  of  Mont- 
gomery's column  left  the  whole  British  force  free 
to  turn  against  Arnold. 

Arnold's  column  was  the  forlorn  hope.  He  had 
with  him  Morgan  and  Captain  Lamb  with  one  field- 
piece.  Arnold  headed  the  column  in  person  (as 
Montgomery  had  his)  with  twenty-five  men.  After 
these  came  the  artillery  of  Lamb  with  their  single 
field-piece  mounted  on  a  sled.  Behind  the  artil- 
lery came  a  company  with  scaling  ladders,  then 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        69 

Morgan  with  his  riflemen,  and  in  rear  of  all  the 
main  body.  The  field-piece  was  carried  as  they 
knew  they  would  have  to  take  a  battery  on  their 
route.  The  field-piece,  however,  was  brought  to 
a  halt  by  a  deep  snowdrift.  Nevertheless,  the 
first  battery  or  barrier  was  taken,  though  Arnold 
was  wounded  so  severely  that  he  had  to  be  borne 
from  the  field.  Morgan  took  command  and 
pressed  on.  The  fight  at  the  second  barrier  was 
obstinate.  Day  was  just  dawning,  and  after 
severe  fighting  in  which  Captain  Lamb  was 
wounded  by  the  last  discharge  of  the  enemy's 
cannon,  the  second  barrier  was  taken.  Morgan 
then  entered  the  town.  But  the  whole  force  of 
the  British  was  now  turned  upon  him  and  he  had 
to  take  refuge  with  his  men  in  a  stone  house. 
This  they  defended,  firing  from  the  windows  until 
they  heard  of  the  death  of  Montgomery  and  the 
retreat  of  his  column  when  Morgan  was  compelled 
to  surrender. 

The  fragments  of  the  little  army  of  Americans 
retreated  a  few  miles  from  the  town  and  threw  up 
hasty  intrenchments,  supposing  that  Carleton 
would  pursue  them  with  his  victorious  garrison. 
But  the  latter  was  content  with  the  safety  of 
Quebec.  To  his  credit  be  it  said,  that  though  a 
severe  and  harsh  man  he  was  struck  with  so  much 
admiration  for  the  daring  of  the  Americans  that 
he  treated  them  with  great  humanity,  and  buried 
Montgomery's  body  with  the  honour  due  a  soldier. 


7o        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Arnold,  wounded  and  in  great  agony,  was  carried 
back  exposed  for  nearly  a  mile  from  musketry  fire 
from  the  walls  which  were  not  more  than  fifty 
yards  distance,  and  took  command  of  the  remnant 
of  the  army  until  he  could  be  relieved  by  General 
Wooster,  who  was  at  Montreal.  He  immediately 
put  his  shattered  remnant  of  an  army  into  such 
shape  that  it  was  still  dangerous  to  the  security 
of  Quebec.  He  declared  that  he  had  no  thought 
of  leaving  the  proud  town  until  he  entered  it  in 
triumph.  "  I  am  in  the  way  of  my  duty  and  I 
know  no  fear,"  he  wrote. 

Thus  ended  the  storming  of  Quebec  and  it  is 
sad  to  relate  Arnold's  expedition,  for  he  did  not 
enter  the  city  in  spite  of  his  courageous  words. 
He  was  rewarded,  however,  by  being  made  a  briga- 
dier-general. 

General  Wooster  did  not  take  command  of 
Arnold's  army  in  person,  however.  He  was  over 
sixty  years  of  age  and  hardly  equal  to  the  task. 
So  Arnold  with  great  pertinacity  remained  before 
the  town  all  winter,  blockading  it  with  a  force  but 
half  as  large  as  the  garrison.  Sickness  and  deser- 
tions reduced  this  force.  The  Canadians  who 
had  hailed  him  as  a  deliverer  were,  now  that  he 
was  beaten,  afraid  to  further  sympathise  with  him 
and  all  he  effected  was  to  cut  off  Quebec  from 
some  occasional  supplies.  In  the  spring,  General 
Wooster  reinforced  him  and  took  command. 
Arnold,  having  been  again  injured  by  the  falling 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        71 

of  his  horse,  went  back  to  Montreal.  Then,  in 
April,  General  Thomas  took  command.  The  latter 
determined  on  another  assault.  He  planned  to 
turn  a  fire-ship  loose  among  the  ships  that  lay  off 
Quebec,  and  while  the  town  was  in  the  confusion 
that  he  expected  would  result  from  the  ensuing 
conflagration  he  proposed  to  scale  the  walls  with 
a  force  that  now  amounted  to  about  two  thousand 
men.  But  the  fire-ship  passed  harmlessly  by  the 
shipping  and  the  rest  of  the  plan  was  of  course 
abandoned.  On  the  6th  of  May,  1 776,  Quebec  was 
reinforced  and  General  Thomas  was  compelled  to 
retreat.  This  he  did,  first  to  Point  Deschambault, 
and  then  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel  River,  where 
he  was  reinforced  by  General  Thompson.  On  the 
second  of  June  General  Thomas  died  of  the  small- 
pox and  was  succeeded  in  command  of  the  Amer- 
ican forces  in  Canada  by  General  Sullivan,  who  had 
arrived  with  still  further  reinforcements.  The 
people  were  at  last  awake  to  the  danger  of  being 
invaded  in  turn  by  the  British  from  Canada. 
Throughout  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Maine 
and  New  York  the  people  were  in  a  state  of  con- 
sternation. They  were  bitter  in  their  criticisms  of 
the  conduct  of  affairs  in  Canada  and  placed  the 
blame  on  the  head  of  poor  General  Schuyler. 
They  accused  him  of  not  furnishing  the  army  in 
Canada  with  sufficient  supplies  or  reinforcements, 
and  they  were  particularly  angry  at  his  'enient 
treatment  of  the  Tories. 


72        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Schuyler,  however,  was  upheld  by  Washington, 
and  at  the  request  of  the  latter  did  not  resign  as 
he  wished  to. 

In  the  meantime  the  English  were  "advancing 
from  Quebec  under  the  command  of  Maclean,  and 
Sullivan  sent  General  Thompson  forward  down 
the  St.  Lawrence  to  meet  him. 

General  John  Sullivan  was  a  lawyer  of  Durham, 
New  Hampshire.  He  with  a  small  force  captured 
Fort  William  and  Mary  at  Portsmouth  at  the 
commencement  of  hostilities,  and  as  I  have  told 
you  was  one  of  the  eight  brigadier-generals  origi- 
nally appointed  by  the  second  Continental  Con- 
gress. He  had  served  under  Washington  at 
Cambridge  until  the  British  evacuated  Boston 
and  was  now  taking  his  turn  at  commanding  the 
army  of  invasion.  His  period  of  command  was 
short  and  anything  but  brillant,  though  he  en- 
tered upon  his  work  with  the  greatest  confidence. 
He  was  totally  unaware  that  a  large  British  army 
of  1,300  men  had  been  landed  in  Canada  and  that 
the  force  of  Maclean  was  but  the  advance  of  it. 

General  Thompson  pushed  blindly  into  a  British 
force  vastly  greater  than  his  own  at  Three  Rivers, 
and  was  completely  routed.  Sullivan,  to  his  cha- 
grin, had  to  retreat  himself  to  Crown  Point,  being 
joined  on  the  way  by  Arnold,  who  barely  made 
his  escape  from  Montreal  with  the  few  hundred 
men  with  whom  he  had  been  holding  the  city. 
And  at  Crown  Point  Sullivan  was  superseded  by 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        73 

General  Gates.  The  British  under  Burgoyne  were 
following,  and  thus  the  American  invasion  of 
Canada  ended  in  a  British  invasion  of  New  York, 
which  it  was  fondly  hoped  would  split  the  colonies 
in  twain. 


CHAPTER  VI 

PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  DEFENCE  OF  NEW  YORK 
—LEE  AND  MOULTRIE— THE  BATTLE  OF  FORT 
MOULTRIE 

You  will  see,  Boy,  that  in  these  early  days  of 
the  Revolution,  officers  in  the  field  were  criticised 
quite  as  freely  as  they  were  in  the  Civil  War,  and 
in  the  war  with  Spain.  Indeed  in  the  first  of  our 
wars  officer  succeeded  officer  with  more  rapidity 
than  in  any  other.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
some,  though  patriotic,  were  inefficient  ;  and  also 
to  the  fact  that  each  colony  had  its  favourite  sons, 
in  whom  it  had  great  confidence,  and  whom  it 
wanted  to  see  promoted.  To  make  things  worse 
the  Continental  Congress  was  vested  with  limited 
powers,  and  it  was  not  always  wise  in  its  actions. 
Very  often  it  tu/ned  the  military  authority  in  a 
colony  over  to  the  Provincial  Assembly  of  that 
colony,  so  that  if  a  general  happened  to  be  acting 
under  the  authority  and  directions  of  one  colony, 
and  in  pursuit  or  retreat  passed  into  another,  he 
immediately  came  under  the  power  of  new  supe- 
riors. In  addition,  these  men  were  serving  with 
little  or  no  pay.  Were  they  not  heroes,  indeed  ? 
74 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        75 

I  have  told  you  of  the  importance  of  Canada 
and  Northern  New  York.  But  the  city  of  New 
York  was  more  important  still.  Its  harbour  was 
full  of  British  ships,  many  of  them  men-of-war, 
and  the  Governor  (Tryon),  who  had  been  driven 
out  by  the  people,  was  on  one  of  these  ships,  and 
was  intriguing  with  the  Tories  in  the  city.  More- 
over, the  ships  were  a  matter  of  constant  alarm 
to  the  inhabitants.  They  were  in  deadly  fear  of 
being  bombarded  by  the  ships. 

At  the  suggestion  of  John  Adams,  Washington 
finally  decided  to  do  something  toward  defending 
New  York.  He  was  doubtful  of  his  authority, 
although  he  had  been  given  extraordinary  powers 
by  Congress.  Adams  convinced  him  that  he 
would  not  be  arrogating  authority.  So  in  Jan- 
uary, before  the  fall  of  Boston,  Washington  sent 
Charles  Lee,  one  of  the  original  major-generals,  on 
to  New  York. 

Lee,  like  Gates  and  Montgomery,  had  been  an 
officer  in  the  regular  army  of  England.  He  was 
fiery,  headstrong,  wild  and  adventurous.  His  life 
reads  more  like  a  romance  than  a  biography.  He 
fought  in  and  for  more  countries  than  America 
and  England,  and  whenever  there  was  a  war  in 
Europe  he  was  pretty  sure  to  be  found  in  it. 
While  a  British  officer  in  the  French  and  Indian 
wars,  he  was  adopted  into  the  Mohawk  tribe  of 
Indians,  who  had  taken  a  fancy  to  him,  under  the 
name  of  "  Boiling  Water,"  which  seemed  to  them 


76        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

appropriate  to  him.  He  afterwards  caused  Wash- 
ington  a  great  deal  of  trouble  ;  but,  it  is  to  be  said 
to  his  credit,  that  he  gave  up  his  property  in  Eng- 
land to  fight  for  the  American  cause,  and  ran  the 
risk  of  being  hung  as  a  traitor  if  captured  by  the 
English.  The  people  looked  up  to  him,  therefore, 
with  great  respect  and  admiration,  and  called  him 
the  "  Palladium  of  American  Liberty."  He  ex- 
pected to  be  made  commander-in-chief  of  the 
American  army,  but  kept  his  chagrin  to  himself 
when  Washington  was  made  such.  No  doubt  he 
thought  that  the  future  might  bring  him  to  the 
front  in  the  course  of  time.  But  he  was  able, 
brave,  earnest  and  vigorous. 

Lee  raised  troops  in  Connecticut  and  marched 
toward  New  York.  The  people  of  the  city  were 
greatly  alarmed  and  begged  that  he  would  not 
enter  the  town,  as  they  feared  an  immediate  bom- 
bardment from  the  ships  if  he  did  enter,  and  com- 
mence to  fortify  the  place.  This  did  not  deter 
Lee.  He  marched  into  town,  sent  word  to  the 
British  ships  that  if  they  bombarded  the  town,  the 
first  house  they  set  on  fire  would  be  the  funeral 
pile  of  one  hundred  of  their  best  Tory  friends,  and 
proceeded  to  fortify  Brooklyn  and  Hell  Gate,  and 
to  barricade  the  town  itself.  He  was  in  the  midst 
of  these  labours  when  Congress  appointed  him  to 
the  command  of  the  army  in  Canada  (that  unfor- 
tunate army  which  had,  we  might  say,  almost  as 
many  commanders  as  men).  Before  he  started 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        77 

• 

for  this  command,  however,  Congress  heard  that 
the  British  intended  to  invade  the  Southern  col- 
onies. So  they  reversed  their  instructions  and 
sent  Lee,  first  to  Virginia,  and  then  to  Charleston, 
S.  C. 

After  the  departure  of  Lee  for  the  South,  the 
command  devolved  for  a  time  upon  Brigadier- 
General  Stirling  (often  called  Lord  Stirling  be- 
cause of  his  claim  to  a  Scotch  earldom,  which  he 
never  succeeded  in  obtaining).  Stirling  was  a 
distinguished  scientist,  and  a  brave  and  efficient 
officer.  In  many  ways  his  judgment  was  not  con- 
sidered sound,  however,  and  he  always  served  in 
a  subordinate  capacity  under  Washington.  Stir- 
ling admired  and  loved  Washington,  and  it  was 
through  Stirling  that  the  Conway  cabal  and  Gates' 
intrigue,  of  which  I  will  tell  you  later,  were  dis- 
covered. 

When  the  British  evacuated  Boston  and  sailed 
away,  Washington  supposed  that  they  would  make 
direct  for  the  port  of  New  York.  He  therefore 
sent  detachments  under  Generals  Heath  and  Sul- 
livan (this,  you  know,  was  before  Sullivan  was  sent 
with  reinforcements  for  the  army  in  Canada)  to 
New  York,  and  called  on  Congress  to  raise  three 
thousand  more  troops  for  the  defence  of  New 
York.  To  Putnam  he  gave  the  command  of  the 
whole  army  in  New  York,  and  the  latter  completed 
the  defences  of  the  town,  begun  by  Lee,  fortified 
King's  Bridge,  and  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson. 


j8        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Putnam  put  even  a  firmer  hand  upon  the  Tories 
in  New  York  than  Lee  had,  and  the  town  was 
under  thorough  martial  law. 

General  Howe  sailed  first  for  Halifax,  but  event- 
ually turned  up  at  New  York  as  Washington  had 
surmised.  In  the  meantime,  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
was  making  preparations  to  invade  the  South 
(where  Lee  had  been  sent  to  prepare  for  him),  and 
as  I  have  told  you,  the  British,  under  General 
Burgoyne,  were  preparing  to  drive  the  Americans 
out  of  Canada,  and  descend  through  New  York. 
So  the  British  had  three  campaigns  arranged  for 
this  year  of  1776,  and  no  doubt  King  George 
thought  that  by  the  end  of  summer  he  would  have 
downed  the  Rebellion,  and  decorated  every  scaf- 
fold in  the  colonies  with  swinging  "  rebels,"  as  the 
British  called  us.  He  did  not  succeed,  but  to 
quote  the  word  of  a  patriot,  writing  at  the  time, 
his  armies  did  "  set  the  continent  a  racing  from 
Boston  to  Carolina." 

When  Washington  heard  of  the  arrival  of  Ad- 
miral Howe's  ships  at  New  York  (the  admiral 
preceded  his  brother  the  general  there),  he  left  Bos- 
ton post-haste  for  the  former  city,  arriving'  on  the 
1 3th  of  April  and  took  personal  command.  Know- 
ing that  the  general  he  had  so  cleverly  driven  out  of 
Boston  would  soon  appear,  the  commander-in- 
chief  saw  that  the  Howes  would  probably  make 
Long  Island  the  object  of  their  first  attack,  and 
set  General  Greene  at  work  completing  the  forti- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        79 

* 

fications  of  Brooklyn,  and  put  him  in  command 
there.  In  all  there  were  about  ten  thousand  men 
available  for  duty  on  Long  Island.  The  men 
were  many  of  them  sick,  and  the  force  was  in- 
sufficient to  meet  the  army  of  Howe.  While 
Washington  was  studying  the  problem  how  best 
to  employ  this  insufficient  force,  Congress  pro- 
ceeded to  ask  him  if  he  could  not  spare  troops 
from  that  army  to  reinforce  the  army  in  Canada. 
It  is  a  matter  of  wonder,  is  it  not,  Boy,  which 
was  the  more  perplexed  man  in  the  times  of  the 
nation's  greatest  needs — Washington  or  Lincoln  ? 

You  see  neither  Congress  nor  Washington  had 
yet  learned  of  the  large  army  that  was  being  sent 
to  Canada.  Congress  thought  that  Howe  would 
sail  back  to  Canada  when  he  found  Washington 
ready  to  meet  him  at  New  York,  and  make  a 
campaign  there.  Or,  that  at  the  worst  he  would 
make  a  campaign  against  New  York,  and  that 
possibly  the  best  way  to  protect  New  York  would 
be  to  make  a  vigorous  offensive  movement  against 
Canada  and  draw  Howe  away  to  defend  it.  No 
one  imagined  that  King  George  had  soldiers  to 
spare  to  make  three  distinct  campaigns.  And,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  King  George  had  not.  But  he 
managed  it,  nevertheless. 

This  is  how  he  did  it.  Not  content  with  waging 
war  against  his  colonies  and  kinsmen  with  the  sav- 
ages, he  hired  soldiers  from  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  Cassel  and  the  Hered- 


8o        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

itary  Prince  of  Cassel.  Nearly  eighteen  thousand 
of  these  he  had  hired  just  as  he  would  have  hired 
the  use  of  so  many  animals,  and  the  delicate- 
minded  masters  of  these  animals  had  let  them  out 
for  so  much  pay  for  their  use,  and  so  much  extra 
for  every  one  killed. 

When  Washington  heard  the  first  news  of  this 
arrangement,  he  proceeded  promptly  to  the  Con- 
gress, which  was  in  session  at  Philadelphia,  and 
made  them  understand  the  desperate  situation  of 
affairs.  They,  therefore,  began  to  enlist  men  for 
three  years  (the  best  step  they  had  yet  taken  in 
the  right  direction),  and  made  preparations  to 
reinforce  the  army  in  New  York  city  with  four- 
teen thousand  men,  giving  Washington  power  to 
call  on  neighbouring  colonies  for  more  if  it  should 
seem  necessary.  King  George's  peculiar  ideas  in 
raising  an  army,  therefore,  but  made  the  Amer- 
icans more  determined  to  baffle  him. 

When  Washington  returned  to  New  York,  a 
plot  was  hatched  by  Governor  Tryon  and  his 
Tories  (the  names  seem  to  go  together  beauti- 
fully, do  they  not  ?)  to  assassinate  Washington. 
Even  some  of  Washington's  body-guard  were  im- 
plicated in  it.  But  the  plot  was  discovered, 
Washington's  life  was  saved,  and  the  conspirators 
were  punished,  one  of  the  body-guard  being  hung 
in  a  field  near  the  Bowery  Lane  in  the  presence 
of  twenty  thousand  spectators. 

On  the  29th  of  June,  1776,  General   Howe  ar- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        81 

rived  before  New  York  with  his  army.  Five  days 
later  the  colonies  formally  declared  their  inde- 
pendence with  general  rejoicing.  This  strength- 
ened Washington's  hand.  He  was  also  rejoiced 
at  this  time  to  obtain  the  services  of  his  old 
Virginia  friend  and  veteran  soldier  Hugh  Mercer, 
just  appointed  brigadier-general,  whom  he  prompt- 
ly put  in  command  of  some  Pennsylvania  troops 
who  were  sent  on  to  New  Jersey  to  help  Brigadier- 
General  Livingston  of  that  colony,  defend  it. 
Mercer  had  fought  with  Washington  at  Fort 
Duquesne,  but  Livingston  was  without  military 
experience.  He  was  a  man  of  education  and 
talent,  however,  and  had  great  influence  with  his 
people.  Washington  had  re-acquired  the  services 
of  Reed  as  adjutant-general  when  Gates  obtained 
a  commission  as  major-general ;  and  just  at  this 
same  time  General  Greene  observed  a  young 
artillery  officer  who  so  impressed  him  by  his 
ability  that  he  took  him  to  Washington.  This 
was  Alexander  Hamilton.  Washington  soon 
soon  found  use  for  him.  Volunteers  from  the 
country  began  to  flock  into  the  city,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  whole  people  was  greatly  improved.  More- 
over the  arrival  of  the  British  before  New  York 
had  precipitated  matters.  Tories  and  patriots  (or 
Whigs,  as  they  were  often  called)  now  took  sides 
openly. 

On  the  1 2th  of  July,  two  of  the  enemy's  ships 
passed  up  the  Hudson,  exchanging  fire  with  the 


82        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

batteries.  This  was  the  first  real  fighting  the 
people  of  New  York  had  seen,  and  they  were 
thrown  into  great  alarm.  Washington,  himself, 
was  alarmed  also,  for  he  feared  thaf  the  forts 
erected  on  the  Hudson  would  be  unable  to  cope 
with  them,  being  in  an  unfinished  condition.  To 
add  to  his  perplexity  there  was  a  conflict  of 
authority  between  Generals  Schuyler  and  Gates, 
and  General  Sullivan,  angered  that  Gates  had 
been  promoted  over  him,  left  the  army  gathered 
by  the  two  former  at  Ticonderoga  on  leave  of 
absence,  hastened  to  Congress  and  offered  his 
resignation.  He  was  prevailed  upon  to  recall  it 
and  joined  Washington  at  New  York.  Congress, 
also,  eventually  made  the  peculiar  decision  be- 
tween Schuyler  and  Gates  that  the  former  was  to 
command  the  army  while  it  was  in  New  York,  and 
the  latter  while  it  was  in  Canada.  This  practically 
put  Schuyler  in  command.  Then  came  a  piece 
of  news  to  cheer  Washington.  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
had  made  an  attack  on  Charlestown  and  had  been 
repulsed. 

This  introduces  another  Hero  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. Before  Lee  arrived  at  Charlestown  to  take 
charge  of  its  defence  from  the  expected  attack  by 
Clinton,  Colonel  William  Moultrie  had  been  erect- 
ing batteries  for  the  defence  of  that  port.  One 
of  these  was  erected  at  Haddrell's  Point ;  the 
other,  a  complete  fort,  on  Sullivan's  Island. 

William  Moultrie  was  born  in  the  city  which 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        83 

he  was  now  defending.  He  and  Francis  Marion, 
who  was  now  a  captain  under  him,  had  fought  to- 
gether against  the  Indians.  On  the  day  that  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was  fought  Moultrie  was 
made  a  colonel  and  Marion  a  captain  by  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  South  Carolina.  The  fort 
he  erected  on  Sullivan's  Island,  and  which  was 
named  after  him,  he  erected  of  palmetto  logs  and 
sand.  To  defend  it  Moultrie  had  but  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty-five  men  and  thirty-one  cannon. 
When  Lee  arrived  to  take  command  he  called  the 
fort  a  "  slaughter-pen  "  and  proposed  to  abandon 
it.  Governor  Rutledge,  however,  would  not  per- 
mit the  fort  to  be  abandoned.  Supposing  that 
the  main  fight  would  be  at  Haddrell  Point,  Lee 
remained  there  and  Moultrie  fought  the  battle, 
although  Lee  crossed  to  the  other  fort  in  an  open 
boat  during  the  engagement  and  pointed  some  of 
the  guns. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  FORT  MOULTRIE. 

Early  in  June,  Clinton  appeared  before  Charles- 
ton with  a  fleet  of  fifty  vessels.  He  landed  about 
two  thousand  troops  on  another  island,  and  sin- 
gularly enough,  on  another  "  Long  Island  "  and 
prepared  for  the  attack.  On  the  28th  all  was 
ready  and  the  English  fleet  sailed  in  to  reduce 
Fort  Moultrie,  preparatory  to  the  advance  by 
land.  There  were  nine  ships  of  war  with  the  fleet 
and  they  were  permitted  to  come  within  point- 


84        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

blank  of  the  fort  before  the  first  gun  was  fired. 
The  defenders  knew  little  of  gunnery  and  they 
probably  did  not  care  to  engage  the. ships  at  a 
range  that  would  require  an  elevation  of  the  guns. 
As  it  was  they  had  been  told  by  every  one  who 
was  supposed  to  know  that  the  fort  would  be  re- 
duced by  the  ships  in  half  an  hour.  When  Moul- 
trie  was  asked  what  he  would  do  then,  he  replied 
promptly,  "  We  will  lie  behind  the  ruins  and  pre- 
vent the  enemy  from  landing." 

The  ships  did  not  reply  to  the  first  volley,  but 
advanced  until  they  were  abreast  of  the  fort,  when 
they  clewed  up  their  sails,  dropped  their  anchors 
and  started  in  to  fight  with  a  terrible  broadside. 
Over  a  hundred  cannon  opened  on  the  fort  at 
once.  Lee  watched  from  Haddrell's  Point. 
When  the  smoke  lifted  from  that  first  awful  broad- 
side from  the  ships  he  expected  to  see  the  fort  in 
ruins.  He  was  mistaken.  The  palmetto  logs  and 
the  sand  made  an  embankment  that  was  impene- 
trable. And  to  his  surprise  there  were  no  splinters 
from  the  palmetto  logs.  They  simply  closed 
silently  over  the  balls,  though  the  battlements 
shook  from  the  broadsides.  But  the  vessels  shook 
also.  The  Americans  were  using  their  cannon  as 
well  as  though  they  were  their  accustomed  rifles. 
The  British  had  a  bomb  vessel  with  them.  But 
the  bombs  it  threw  sunk  silently  into  a  morass  in 
the  centre  of  the  fort,  and  it  soon  went  out  of  ac- 
tion riddled  through  and  through.  Then  Moul- 


85 

trie  turned  every  gun  on  the  largest  of  the  English 
vessels — fifty-gun  ships.  The  fire  he  poured  in 
on  these  was  terrible  and  he  drove  every  man 
from  their  upper  decks,  which  were  slippery  with 
blood.  On  one  boat,  the  Experiment,  nearly  a 
hundred  men  were  either  killed  or  wounded  in  the 
first  hour  of  the  action.  The  Commodore  fared 
no  better. 

A  cannon  ball  knocked  a  coat  from  the  top  of 
the  parapet.  The  men  laughed  as  it  sailed  away, 
and  Moultrie  took  out  his  pipe  and  began  to  smoke 
in  quiet  joy.  In  the  distance  Charleston,  like 
Boston  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  was  black 
with  spectators.  Now  Lee,  more  and  more  aston- 
ished at  the  ability  of  the  "  slaughter-pen,"  as  he 
had  called  it,  to  hold  out,  came  over  in  a  boat. 
He  was  equally  astonished  at  the  coolness  of 
Moultrie  and  his  men.  The  idea  of  a  few  men  in 
such  a  rude  structure  with  but  thirty-five  cannon 
holding  out  against  a  fleet  that  carried  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  guns  all  told  seemed  almost 
impossible  to  him.  But  Lee  was  an  admirer  of 
brave  men,  and  he  did  not  now  come  to  take  from 
Moultrie  the  credit  of  defending  the  fort.  On  the 
contrary  he  commended  him  and  returned  to  his 
own  post  to  send  over  more  powder.  He  was 
equally  enthusiastic  in  his  praises  of  Moultrie  and 
his  men  in  his  report  to  Washington  later. 

During  the  fight  the  flag-staff  on  the  fort  was 
shot  away,  and  both  the  people  of  Charleston  and 


86        HEROES  OF  OUJ3.  REVOLUTION 

the  British  on  ship  and  on  shore  supposed  (with 
very  different  emotions)  that  the  fort  had  sur- 
rendered. But  the  heroic  Sergeant  Jasper,  whose 
name  has  become  immortal  for  the  act,  jumped 
on  the  parapet  and  walked  under  fire  over  to  where 
it  had  fallen,  the  whole  length  of  the  fort  away, 
picked  it  up,  bound  it  to  a  sponge  staff  and  planted 
it  on  the  bastion  at  the  corner. 

When  the  powder  gave  out  the  British  thought 
the  defenders  were  weakening.  But  the  first  ter- 
rible volley  after  a  new  supply  arrived  showed 
them  their  error.  All  day  long  the  fight  kept  up. 
For  twelve  hours  ships  and  fort  struggled  for  the 
mastery.  At  length,  after  nine  o'clock  at  night, 
the  fleet  drew  away  completely  cut  up.  One  boat, 
the  Acteon,  had  run  aground,  and  to  prevent  her 
from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans  the 
British  set  her  on  fire.  When  the  fire  reached  her 
magazine  she  blew  up  with  an  explosion  that  was 
heard  for  miles.  This  engagement  saved  South 
Carolina  from  danger.  Moultrie  was  made  a 
brigadier-general,  and  sent  to  the  defence  of 
Savannah,  which  was  threatened  by  the  enemy. 
Lee,  after  remaining  some  time  in  command  at 
Charleston,  was  ordered  to  Philadelphia,  and  later 
went  to  the  assistance  of  Washington  in  New  York. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   BATTLE  OF  LONG  ISLAND. 

THE  British  force  before  New  York,  and  now 
holding  Staten  Island,  was  no  less  than  thirty-five 
thousand  men.  Howe  had  been  reinforced  by  the 
troops  under  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  who  had  been 
driven  away  from  Charlestown,  and  by  further 
reinforcements,  from  England. 

Washington  knew,  as  the  summer  advanced, 
that  the  British  were  prepared  for  an  attack  on 
Long  Island,  and  must  have  often  wondered  why 
they  did  not  make  it  sooner.  In  the  meantime, 
Putnam  tried  to  capture  the  two  boats  that  had 
sailed  up  the  Hudson,  by  placing  obstructions  in 
the  river  below  them  under  the  guns  of  batteries 
on  either  shore.  He  then  tried  to  set  them  on 
fire  as  they  rode  at  anchor,  by  fire  ships,  which 
were  being  constructed  in  New  York  by  Ephraim 
Anderson,  adjutant  of  a  New  Jersey  regiment, 
who  had  made  the  same  sort  of  an  attempt  to  set 
fire  to  the  ships  during  the  siege  of  Quebec.  In- 
deed, it  was  Anderson's  plan  to  attempt  the 
destruction  of  the  whole  English  fleet  in  this 
manner,  though  it  was  never  carried  out. 

87 


88        HEROES  OK  OWR  REVOLUTION 

Putnam's  fire-ships  failed  to  set  fire  to  the  Eng- 
lish men-of-war,  but  they  became  alarmed  when 
the  attempt  was  made,  for  their  safety,  and  con- 
cluded to  drop  down  the  river.  Putnam  was  con- 
fident that  they  were  as  good  as  captured.  He 
thought  that  his  obstruction  would  hold  them, 
and  his  batteries  smash  them  into  surrender.  He 
was  disappointed.  The  men-of-war  were  guided 
through  the  only  opening  in  the  obstruction  by 
some  never  discovered  traitor,  and  calmly  sailed 
away  to  join  the  fleet  anchored  off  Staten  Island. 

As  August  drew  on,  it  was  apparent  that  the 
British  were  making  ready  for  an  attack  on  New 
York,  and  the  city  was  thrown  into  a  state  of  fever- 
ish excitement.  Many  of  Washington's  advisers 
now  urged  him  to  abandon  the  city.  They  feared 
that  he  would  be  cooped  up  in  it  much  as  he  had 
cooped  the  British  up  in  Boston,  and  be  compelled 
to  surrender.  The  great  Commander-in-Chief, 
however,  was  unwilling  to  leave  New  York  with- 
out making  the  best  effort  he  could  to  defend  it. 
He  had  but  about  seventeen  thousand  men  to 
oppose  to  the  thirty-five  thousand  of  the  enemy, 
but  he  expected  to  fight  with  an  inferior  force 
throughout  the  war,  and  he  might  as  well  do  it 
now  as  at  any  other  time. 

On  the  night  of  the  2ist  of  August,  1776,  the 
British  began  to  cross  to  Long  Island,  and  by 
morning  twenty  thousand  of  the  enemy  had 
landed,  or  were  preparing  to  land,  at  various 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        89 

points.  The  American  position  stretched  from 
Wallabout  Bay  to  Gowanus  Cove.  To  protect 
its  rear,  there  was  a  battery  at  Red  Hook  and  a 
fort  on  Governor's  Island.  The  line  of  defences 
erected  by  General  Greene  consisted  of  intrench- 
ments  and  redoubts.  Two  and  a  half  miles  in 
front  was  a  densely  wooded  range  of  hills,  which 
General  Greene  had  intended  to  fortify.  Greene, 
however,  had  fallen  sick  with  a  fever,  and  the  com- 
mand of  the  forces  in  Brooklyn  had  fallen  on 
General  Sullivan.  Several  thousand  of  the  enemy 
landed  at  Gravesend  and  compelled  Colonel  Hand, 
who  was  stationed  there  to  retreat  to  the  wooded 
hills.  Against  these  lines  marched  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  the  Earls  of  Cornwallis  and  Percy,  and 
Generals  Grant  and  Erskine,  with  nine  thousand 
men  and  forty  pieces  of  artillery.  Lord  Cornwal. 
lis  took.up  a  position  at  Flatbush  with  the  Eng- 
lish reserve,  while  the  rest  of  the  army  stretched 
across  Long  Island  from  the  Narrows  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Flatland.  There  were  three  passes  through 
the  wooded  hills,  and  Cornwallis  advanced  to  take 
the  central  one.  Here  he  found  Hand,  and  being 
ordered  not  to  attack,  camped  for  the  night  at  the 
village  of  Flatbush.  The  intention  of  the  British 
was  to  force  the  Brooklyn  lines  and  take  Brook- 
lyn Heights.  The  prospects  of  a  battle  again 
alarmed  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,  and  they  be- 
gan pouring  from  it.  They  feared,  too,  for  some 
unexplainable  reason,  that  Washington,  if  forced 


90        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

to  retreat,  intended  to  set  fire  to  New  York. 
This,  of  course,  he  had  no  intention  of  doing. 

On  the  24th,  Washington  crossed  to  Brooklyn 
to  take  a  survey  of  the  situation,  but  he  was  handi- 
capped by  the  condition  of  General  Greene,  who 
was  too  ill  to  even  explain  his  plans.  Colonel 
Hand  had  thrown  up  a  redoubt  on  the  central 
road,  while  the  road  from  Flatbush  to  Bedford 
was  guarded  by  Colonels  Williams  and  Miles. 
The  English  were  now  stretched  along  in  front  of 
these  hills.  There  had  been  continual  skirmish- 
ing and  fighting  between  the  two  armies,  but  as 
yet  no  serious  encounter.  Washington  now  saw 
that  General  Sullivan  was  unequal  to  the  com- 
mand, being  so  new  an  arrival  at  the  scene  of  ac- 
tion, and  gave  it  to  General  Putnam.  In  the 
meantime,  the  British  were  continually  augment- 
ing their  force.  Washington  on  returning  to  New 
York  sent  over  still  further  reinforcements. 

The  British  plan  of  attack  was  to  turn  the  left 
flank  of  the  American  army,  and  this  Clinton  did 
on  the  night  of  the  26th.  He  expected  to  be  op- 
posed, but  to  his  surprise  he  was  not.  Attacks 
were  made  in  the  early  morning  on  the  American 
right  and  centre  to  aid  him,  and  a  British  ship 
cannonaded  the  battery  at  Red  Hook. 

Washington  was  for  a  time  perplexed  as  to 
whether  New  York  was  also  to  be  attacked,  or 
merely  the  lines  on  Long  Island.  At  length,  he 
concluded  that  the  fighting  was  to  be  done  only 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        91 

on  Long  Island,  and  was  ferried  over  in  time  to 
see  the  catastrophe  resulting  from  the  enemy's 
well  laid  plans.  Sullivan,  hearing  the  thundering 
of  Clinton's  cannon  from  Colonel  Hand's  redoubt 
near  Flatbush,  surmised  the  truth  that  he  had  been 
flanked  on  the  left.  He  immediately  ordered  a 
retreat,  but  it  was  too  lat^e.  The  British  were  well 
around  by  this  time,  and  he  was  driven  back.  As 
the  British  were  now  advancing  all  along  the  line 
it  was  but  a  short  time  before  the  Americans  on 
the  heights  were  surrounded.  They  fought  with 
fury,  and  were  attacked  with  equal  fury,  the  Hes- 
sians making  a  name  for  themselves  as  butchers, 
which  is  not  yet  forgotten  by  Americans.  A  few 
of  the  American  army  fought  its  way  through  to 
the  lines,  but  the  majority,  including  Sullivan  him- 
self, were  captured. 

All  this  could  be  seen  by  Washington.  He 
saw  his  best  troops  cut  down  and  captured,  and 
knew  he  had  nothing  but  militia  left  to  man  the 
works  around  Brooklyn.  But  even  worse  was  to 
follow.  General  Stirling,  who  commanded  the 
right  of  the  American  line  on  the  hills,  had  been 
deceived  by  the  forbearance  of  the  British  in  not 
advancing  against  him,  though  they  continued  to 
engage  with  him.  Supposing  himself  master  of 
the  field,  therefore,  and  ignorant  of  the  fate  of  the 
left,  he  remained  in  place  until  the  British  reserve 
under  Cornwallis  got  in  his  rear.  Then  he  under- 
stood the  desperate  situation  he  was  caught  in. 


92        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Washington  supposed  that  he  would  surrender. 
Instead,  he  divided  his  force.  He  ordered  half  to 
retreat,  and  with  -the  other  half  boldly  attacked 
Cornwallis.  He  and  his  little  body  of  men  fought 
desperately,  but  eventually  were  forced  to  sur- 
render. In  the  meantime,  Washington,  looking 
on,  wrung  his  hands  in  agony  at  the  carnage. 

The  British  forces  now  concentrated  within 
a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  American  redoubts. 
They  could  have  carried  them  by  assault,  prob- 
ably, but  the  British  commander,  Howe,  thought 
he  could  attain  his  object  and  lose  fewer  men  by 
regular  approaches.  Consequently,  he  withdrew 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  American  musketry  fire 
and  encamped  for  the  night. 

The  Americans  lost  two  thousand  men  in  killed, 
wounded  and  prisoners,  out  of  about  five  thou- 
sand actually  in  the  engagement.  The  British 
lost  less  than  four  hundred. 

The  next  day  (the  28th)  the  British  began  plant- 
ing cannon  and  commenced  to  entrench.  Rain, 
however,  drove  the  British  into  their  tents,  while 
reinforcements  arrived  in  small  numbers  in  the 
American  camp.  The  2Qth  was  noticeable  for  a 
dense  fog.  Adjutant-General  Reed  and  some 
other  officers  rode  out,  however,  and  discovered 
that  the  English  ships  were  in  a  state  of  bustle 
and  preparation.  This  boded  evil.  The  officers 
galloped  back,  and  Reed  communicated  the  fact 
to  Washington.  To  him,  as  to  them,  a  movement 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        93 

of  the  ships  could  mean  but  one  thing — an  at- 
tempt to  cut  him  off  from  New  York,  and  the 
possible,  if  not  very  probable,  capture  of  his  whole 
army.  Washington  at  once  called  a  council  of 
war,  and  it  was  decided  to  retreat  to  New  York 
while  there  was  yet  opportunity.  But  even  the 
retreat  was  a  dangerous  "piece  of  business.  The 
sentries  of  the  enemy  were  within  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  of  the  American  sentries,  with  the  boats  at 
hand,  the  crossing  of  so  large  a  body  of  men  over 
a  strait  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide  and  swept 
by  strong  currents,  must  of  necessity  be  slow ; 
and,  should  the  enemy  learn  of  it,  disastrous. 
Washington  himself  arranged  the  plans.  Secrecy 
and  celerity  were  required.  The  troops  were 
ordered  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  advance 
(which  caused  them  a  feeling  of  consternation,  as 
their  guns  were  rendered  almost  useless  by  the 
incessant  rains);  and  so  quickly  did  Colonel 
Hughes,  the  acting  quartermaster-general,  obey 
his  orders,  that  all  the  water  craft  within  fifteen 
miles  was  assembled  at  the  docks  by  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  though  the  orders  were  issued 
only  at  noon.  General  Mifflin,  with  the  Penn- 
sylvania troops,  was  to  remain  on  guard  at  the 
trenches  with  sentries  posted  quite  as  usual,  until 
the  main  body  had  embarked,  when  he  was  to 
march  quickly  to  tl\e  docks  and  cross  himself. 

Late  in  the  evening  the  movement  began.    The 
central  regiments  moving  to  the  rear  as  silently  as 


94        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

possible,  and  the  flanks  closing  in  as  they  went, 
and  taking  their  places. 

Washington  stationed  himself  at  the  ferry,  su- 
perintending everything.  All  went  well,  save  that 
a  cannon  was  discharged  while  it  was  being  spiked, 
and  one  of  Washington's  aides,  by  mistake,  gave 
the  order  to  Mifflin  to  withdraw  before  the  proper 
time.  The  gun,  however,  failed  to  arouse  the 
British  camp,  and  Mifflin,  upon  being  informed  of 
his  mistake  by  the  astonished  and  angry  Wash- 
ington, marched  his  men  back  to  their  posts.  A 
Tory  woman,  whose  husband  had  been  put  under 
guard  by  the  Americans,  sent  a  negro  servant  to 
inform  the  British  of  the  movement  in  a  spirit  of 
revenge.  He  passed  the  American  pickets  suc- 
cessfully ;  but,  fortunately,  when  approaching  the 
enemy's  lines,  fell  into  the  hands  of  some  Hessian 
guards  who  could  not  understand  English,  and  he 
was  locked  up  for  the  night.  On  such  a  trifling 
thing  as  that  hung  the  fate  of  the  American 
army. 

General  Howe  did  not  make  any  immediate 
preparations  to  attack  New  York,  although  he 
must  have  known  the  precarious  situation  Wash- 
ington's army  was  in.  The  fact  of  the  matter 
was,  Howe  was  ambitious  to  bring  the  war  to  a 
close  and  reunite  the  colonies  to  the  mother  coun- 
try. He  had  no  authority  from  parliament  to  make 
terms  with  the  Americans,  but  supposed  that  if 
he  could  come  to  an  agreement  with  them  it  would 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        95 

be  ratified  by  his  own  government.  He  could 
make  no  terms  with  them,  he  knew,  except  such 
as  meant  a  reunion  with  England.  But  he  sup- 
posed the  Americans  thoroughly  whipped  by  this 
time,  and  as  thoroughly  cowed.  New  York  and 
Washington's  army  he  considered  his  whenever 
he  might  wish  to  take  it. 

Under  these  "circumstances  he  sent  General  Sul- 
livan under  parole  with  an  overture  to  Congress, 
although  he  would  not  recognise  the  authority  of 
Congress,  or,  indeed,  the  legal  existence  of  such 
a  body.  This  put  Congress  in  a  dilemma.  They 
wanted  to  treat  with  Howe,  because,  for  all  they 
knew,  the  negotiations  might  lead  to  independence 
and  peace.  But  they  also  insisted  on  their  right 
to  represent  the  American  people.  In  this  dilem- 
ma they  appointed  a  committee  of  three,  consist- 
ing of  John  Adams,  Edward  Rutledge  and  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  to  confer  with  Howe.  It  was 
arranged  that  Howe  should  consider  this  com- 
mittee merely  a  small  body  of  private  gentlemen 
of  influence  in  the  rebellious  colonies,  while 
Congress  considered  them,  as  they  were,  a  com- 
mittee. The  committee  met  General  Howe  on 
Staten  Island,  opposite  Amboy,  where  Mercer 
was  stationed  with  a  small  body  of  Pennsylvania 
and  New  Jersey  troops,  called  by  Washington  a 
"  flying  camp"  for  the  protection  of  New  Jersey 
from  marauders.  The  committee  soon  discovered 
that  Howe  had  no  authority  to  treat  with  them 


96        HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

along  any  lines  which  they  were  willing  to  con- 
sider, and  the  conference  soon  broke  up  without 
accomplishing  anything.  General  Howe  expressed 
regret,  when  they  departed,  that  he  "would  be 
obliged  to  distress  those  for  whom  he  had  so 
much  regard."  Franklin  assured  him  that  the 
Americans  would  endeavor  to  lessen  his  pain  by 
"  taking  good  care  of  themselves."* 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  RETREAT  FROM  NEW  YORK — ARRIVAL  OF 
LEE — THE  BATTLE  OF  WHITE  PLAINS  — 
DEFENCES  OF  THE  HIGHLANDS  OF  THE  HUD- 
SON— PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE  DEFENCE  OF 
NEW  JERSEY 

IN  New  York  Washington  was  in  a  state  of  per- 
plexity. He  fully  realised  the  importance  of 
holding  New  York  if  possible  and  the  danger  that 
lay  in  the  attempt.  The  island  peninsula  of 
Manhattan  is  a  particularly  difficult  one  to  de- 
fend, and  a  more  difficult  place  to  retreat  from. 
Surrounded  by  water  which  was  covered  on  three 
sides  with  the  ships  of  the  enemy,  there  was  but 
one  point  where  he  might  withdraw  to  the  main- 
land. This  was  King's  Bridge  at  the  northern 
part  of  the  island.  As  yet  the  British  had  made 
no  move  up  the  Harlem  River,  but  they  soon 
appeared  at  Hell  Gate. 

In  the  meantime  the  enlistments  of  many  of  his 
troops  were  running  out  and  they  were  returning 
to  their  homes.  Worse  still,  a  good  part  of  the 
militia,  disgusted,  dejected  and  thoroughly  fright- 
ened, marched  off  to  their  homes.  Washington 
7  97 


98 

did  not  attempt  to  dissuade  them.  He  knew  it 
would  be  almost  useless,  and  he  had  no  use  for 
troops  in  such  a  frame  of  mind  any  way.  Thus 
his  army  began  to  disintegrate,  .until,  as  we  shall 
see,  by  winter,  he  had  but  a  handful  left. 

After  a  council  of  war  in  which  the  generals 
disagreed,  it  was  finally  concluded  to  leave  Put- 
nam with  five  thousand  troops  to  the  city  itself 
to  man  the  redoubts  and  batteries.  Heath  with 
nine  thousand  was  to  occupy  the  upper  part  of 
the  island,  to  oppose  any  attempt  of  the  enemy  to 
land,  while  Greene  was  to  occupy  the  central  por- 
tion along  Turtle  Bay  and  Kip's  Bay.  Washing- 
ton located  his  headquarters  some  distance  from 
the  city.  Foreseeing  the  end,  however,  Washing- 
ton began  the  removal  of  supplies  from  the  city 
and  island. 

On  the  I4th  of  September  the  British  landed 
several  thousand  troops  on  the  islands  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Harlem  River.  The  next  day  they 
attacked  the  militia  at  Turtle  Bay  and  Kip's  Bay. 
The  latter  fled  at  the  first  approach  of  the  red- 
coats. Their  panic  and  flight  was  joined  in  by 
two  brigades  Putnam  had  sent  to  aid  them. 
While  they  were  fleeing  and  their  officers  trying 
in  vain  to  rally  them,  Washington  appeared 
among  them.  He  was  so  indignant  that  he  lost 
all  self-control,  threw  his  hat  on  the  ground  in 
rage  and  snapped  his  pistols  at  the  flying  men. 
Indeed,  he  would  have  been  captured  by  the 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION        99 

enemy  then  and  there  had  not  an  aide  grasped 
the  bridle  of  his  horse  and  led  him  away.  He 
soon  regained  command  of  himself,  however,  and 
sent  word  in  haste  to  Putnam  to  withdraw  from 
the  city  to  Harlem  Heights,  which  he  saw  was 
the  objective  point  of  the  British. 

Putnam  promptly  obeyed,  making  a  forced 
march  along  the  road  nearest  the  Hudson.  The 
day  was  terribly  hot,  the  roads  dusty  and  his 
army  impeded  by  hosts  of  women  and  children 
who  fled  with  it.  Many  men  fell  on  the  road 
from  exhaustion  and  some  died,  but  Putnam 
barely  made  good  his  escape.  The  very  heat  that 
caused  his  column  so  much  trouble,  tempted  the 
British  to  halt  at  the  house  of  a  Quaker,  named 
Murray,  on  Murray  Hill,  for  refreshments. 
Murray  was  a  patriot,  and  his  wife,  knowing 
that  Putnam'  s  army  was  making  its  way  but  a 
mile  distant,  saw  an  opportunity  to  aid  him.  She 
placed  cake  and  wine  before  the  British  officers 
in  such  abundance  that  they  gladly  lingered  until 
it  was  too  late.  As  it  was,  however,  they  crossed 
the  island  in  time  to  capture  some  three  hun- 
dred men  of  Putnam's  army  and  kill  about 
fifteen  in  a  short  encounter. 

Washington  now  made  a  fortified  camp  on  the 
upper  neck  of  Manhattan  Island.  Here  it  is  but 
a  mile  in  width  and  separated  from  the  mainland 
by  the  Harlem  River.  It  is  high  and  rocky  and 
easily  defended,  but  not  an  easy  place  to  escape 


ioo          HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

from  if  an  army  is  surrounded  there.  You  have 
often  seen  it,  Boy,  if  you  have  gone  out  to  a  base- 
ball game  on  the  Elevated  Road  in  New  York. 
To-day  it  is  built  almost  solidly  with  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  citizens  of  New  York.  Fort  Wash- 
ington is  on  one  of  these  heights,  and  overlook- 
ing the  Hudson  was  then  one  of  Washington's 
defences  for  the  Hudson  River.  Two  miles 
north  of  Fort  Washington  is  King's  Bridge, 
which  was  Washington's  road  for  retreat  to  the 
mainland.  A  mile  and  a  half  south  of  the 
fort,  Washington  stretched  two  lines  of  defences 
from  the  Harlem  to  the  Hudson.  There  were 
also  two  advanced  posts,  one  on  the  left,  com- 
manded by  General  Spencer,  and  the  other  at 
McGowan's  Pass,  commanded  by  General  Put- 
nam. Washington  now  made  his  headquarters 
at  the  country-seat  of  a  Tory  by  the  name  of 
Roger  Morris  who,  singularly  enough,  had  been 
Washington's  successful  rival  for  the  hand  of  a 
young  lady,  Miss  Mary  Philipse.  The  owners 
were  of  course  away,  but  a  portrait  of  the  young 
lady  which  is  still  in  existence  is  supposed  to 
have  been  in  the  house,  and  we  may  wonder  if 
Washington  ever  turned  from  the  anxieties  of 
war  and  the  then  failing  fortunes  of  the  American 
cause  to  look  at  it  and  think  of  the  days  of  his 
early  love. 

There  was  but  one  skirmish  of  any  importance 
while  Washington   occupied  this  place.     An  ad- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       101 

vanced  post  was  taken  and  the  defenders  driven 
in,  after  a  brave  resistance,  by  Lieutenant-colonel 
Knowlton,  who  had  distinguished  himself  at  Bun- 
ker Hill.  Washington  and  his  adjutant-general, 
Reed,  rode  out  to  reconnoitre.  The  enemy  per- 
ceiving them  sounded  their  bugles  as  the  English 
do  after  a  fox  chase.  This  insult  stung  Washing- 
ton to  the  quick  and  he  determined  to  take  what 
appeared  to  him  to  be  but  a  small  advance  of  the 
enemy  prisoners.  So  he  sent  a  Virginia  regiment 
under  command  of  Major  Leitch  to  assist  Knowl- 
ton. These  two  tried  to  get  in  rear  of  the  enemy, 
but  the  latter  falling  back  they  came  upon  his 
flanks.  The  enemy  were  reinforced,  so  were 
Knowlton  and  Leitch,  and  a  hot  skirmish  ensued. 
The  enemy  were  driven  back  and  pursued  some 
distance.  But  the  main  body  of  the  British  were 
not  far  away  and  Washington,  not  wishing  to 
bring  on  a  general  engagement,  recalled  the  troops 
while  they  were  flushed  with  the  novel  pleasure  of 
chasing  the  enemy.  Unfortunately,  Knowlton  was 
killed  and  Leitch  mortally  wounded  in  the  fight. 
A  tremendous  fire  raged  in  New  York  on  the 
2Oth,  which  was  finally  extinguished  by  the  soldiers 
of  Howe's  army.  Howe  claimed  that  the  fire 
was  set  at  Washington's  orders,  which  was  false. 
Nevertheless  Howe's  soldiers  promptly  killed  a 
number  of  patriots  whom  they  found  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  fire,  on  the  suspicion  that  they  were  the 
incendiaries. 


io2      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

An  exchange  of  prisoners  was  now  effected.  By 
this  the  Americans  regained  General  Stirling,  who 
was  captured  at  Long  Island,  and  Captain  Morgan, 
who  was  captured  at  Quebec.  The  latter  was  pro- 
moted and  given  command  of  a  rifle  regiment 
which  he  was  authorised  to  raise.  This  regiment 
became  the  celebrated  body  known  as  "  Morgan's 
Riflemea" 

It  was  now  October  of  1776.  To  Washington's 
surprise  Howe  made  no  offensive  movement  save 
to  send  three  ships  of  war  up  the  Hudson  to 
Dobb's  Ferry.  These  ships  broke  through  Put- 
nam's barriers  as  easily  as  they  would  have  snapped 
a  clothes-line.  They  worried  Washington  and 
caused  great  excitement  among  the  people.  Other 
and  better  barriers  were  hastily  constructed  to 
prevent  them  from  being  reinforced  by  other  ships, 
and  also  to  prevent  them  from  returning  down  the 
river. 

These  ships  made  more  trouble  for  Washington 
than,  perhaps,  Howe  ever  dreamed  they  would. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  country  threatened  by  them 
called  loudly  for  protection.  All  of  Washing- 
ton's advisers,  save  those  interested  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  state,  wanted  him  to  retreat  immedi- 
ately, not  only  to  protect  the  country,  but  to  save 
his  army.  The  others,  especially  Clinton,  who 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  fate  of  the  country 
Washington  was  then  defending,  wanted  him  to 
stay  where  he  was  and  fight. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      103 

At  this  time,  while  Washington  was  sorely 
perplexed,  General  Lee  arrived  in  camp  from 
Philadelphia.  He  was  fresh  from  the  victory  at 
Fort  Moultrie,  and  was  everywhere  hailed  as  a 
deliverer.  Even  Washington  was  overjoyed  at 
his  arrival,  and  having  a  great  respect  for  his 
military  attainments,  treated  his  views  with  un- 
usual consideration.  In  fact  he  made  the  mistake, 
at  once,  of  merely  suggesting  orders  to  Lee,  rather 
than  absolutely  giving  them.  We  shall  see  how 
Lee  took  advantage  of  this  fact.  Washington 
immediately  gave  him  command  of  the  wing  of 
the  army  above  King's  Bridge.  At  a  council  of 
war,  too,  held  at  King's  Bridge,  Lee's  opinion 
finally  confirmed  Washington  in  his  belief  that  he 
must  retreat  altogether  from  Manhattan  Island, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  General  George  Clinton, 
who  was  heart  and  soul  for  fighting  it  out  then 
and  there.  Clinton  was  totally  unable  to  perceive 
the  meaning  of  the  strategy  to  which  Washing- 
ton was  compelled  to  resort  from  time  to  time, 
and  was  disgusted  at  the  policy  of  retreating.  He 
was  for  saving  New  York.  Washington  would 
have  retreated,  in  case  of  necessity,  to  the  Alle- 
ghany  Mountains  themselves.  Washington,  at  the 
express  orders  of  Congress,  left  a  strong  garrison 
in  Fort  Washington,  however,  with  orders  that  it 
should  be  held  as  long  as  possible. 

Washington  now  moved  his  army  in  the  direc- 
tion of  White  Plains,  as  the  British  were  already 


io4      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

well  advanced  toward  his  rear  and  left  flank. 
Before  moving,  however,  he  divided  his  army  into 
four  divisions,  and  assigned  Generals  Lee,  Heath, 
Sullivan  and  Lincoln  to  command  them.  General 
Sullivan  had  recently  been  exchanged  for  General 
Prescott.  General  Lincoln  was  a  Massachusetts 
man,  who  had  been  lately  appointed  major-general, 
and  who  had  been,  until  recently,  in  command  of 
the  few  troops  left  at  Boston.  General  Greene 
was  now  in  command  of  Fort  Lee  (the  name  of 
which  had  been  recently  changed  from  Fort  Con- 
stitution in  honour  of  Lee)  on  the  Hudson,  op- 
posite Fort  Washington,  and  Colonel  Magaw  was 
in  command  at  Fort  Washington. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  WHITE  PLAINS 

It  was  the  23d  of  October,  when  Washington 
stationed  himself  in  a  camp  at  White  Plains  and 
fortified  it.  Howe  (who  was  now  General  Sir 
William  Howe,  having  been  recently  made  a 
knight  companion  of  the  Bath  for  his  success  on 
Long  Island)  waited  for  a  few  days  for  supplies 
and  reinforcements,  and  then  pushed  along  the 
mainland  towards  New  Rochelle,  constantly  har- 
assed by  Colonel  Glover  with  three  regiments  of 
Massachusetts  infantry.  Howe  reached  New 
Rochelle  on  the  2ist.  Here  he  was  reinforced  by 
some  Hessians  and  two  regiments  of  light  dra- 
goons. He  had  been  trying  continually  to  get  in 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       105 

rear  of  Washington's  army  by  continual  flank 
movements  on  Washington's  left.  As  a  result, 
when  the  two  armies  met  at  White  Plains,  Wash- 
ington was  faced  east  to  meet  him.  His  right 
rested  on  a  curve  of  the  Bronx  River,  his  left  on  a 
lake  in  the  hills.  His  whole  line  was  on  high 
ground.  The  battle  occurred  on  the  28th  of  Oc- 
tober. The  position  Washington  had  taken  was 
but  a  temporary  one  for  defence  while  he  was 
collecting  his  stores.  Though  well  chosen,  it  was 
commanded  by  several  hills,  which  Lee  wanted 
held.  The  only  one  which  Washington  had  time 
to  occupy,  however,  was  Chatterton's  Hill,  on  the 
right  of  his  right  flank,  and  separated  from  it  by 
the  Bronx  and  a  marsh.  To  it  he  sent  about  two 
thousand  men  under  General  McDougall. 

The  British  army  advanced  in  two  columns,  ac- 
companied by  some  of  the  recently  landed  cavalry 
of  the  British.  The  latter  looked  formidable  in- 
deed to  the  militia,  which  as  yet  had  fought  against 
artillery  and  infantry  only.  As  Washington  ex- 
pected, the  British  concluded  to  take  Chatterton's 
Hill  before  making  a  front  attack  upon  him.  For 
this  purpose  they  sent  Colonel  Rahl  with  a  brigade 
of  Hessians  to  cross  the  Bronx  further  down  the 
stream  and  attack  the  hill  on  one  side,  while  a 
column  under  General  Leslie  attacked  it  from  the 
other.  They  preceded  the  attack  by  a  furious 
cannonade  upon  the  hill,  under  cover  of  which 
Leslie  hastily  constructed  a  bridge  across  the 


106      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Bronx.  While  constructing  the  bridge  they  were 
severely  handled  by  two  pieces  of  artillery  sta- 
tioned on  the  hill  and  commanded  most  ably  by 
Alexander  Hamilton,  now  a  captain  of  artillery. 

When  the  bridge  was  finished  Leslie's  com- 
mand rushed  over  it  and  charged  up  the  hill. 
Hamilton's  field-pieces  fired  three  volleys  at  them 
as  they  advanced,  every  ball  ploughing  through 
the  column,  so  well  were  the  pieces  served.  In 
the  meantime  Smallwood's  Marylanders  fired 
steady  volleys  at  them  with  small  arms. 

Colonel  Rahl  charged  up  the  south  side  of  the 
hill  on  McDougall's  right  flank.  His  men  gave 
way,  but  he  rallied  them  partially  behind  a  stone 
fence.  Here  they  stood  until  the  British  cavalry 
charged  upon  them,  when  they  fired  one  volley 
and  fled  in  absolute  confusion.  The  left  of  the 
line  on  the  hill  fought  more  steadily  and  twice  re- 
pulsed the  British  columns.  Eventually,  however, 
they  were  forced  down  the  hill,  and  retired  sul- 
lenly. At  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  the  north  side, 
at  the  bridge  by  which  they  had  gained  the  hill, 
they  were  met  by  General  Putnam  with  a  body  of 
troops  to  reinforce  them.  His  arrival  was  too 
late,  however,  and  they  retired  into  the  camp. 
The  loss  of  both  armies  was  about  equal. 

The  British  now  commenced  to  fortify  Chatter- 
ton's  Hill.  In  the  meantime  they  extended  their 
right  wing  around  Washington's  left  until  their 
army  formed  a  semicircle.  But  they  did  not 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       107 

make  another  attack,  as  the  day  was  well  advanced. 
Washington  took  advantage  of  the  delay  to  send 
back  his  sick  and  wounded  and  as  much  of  his 
provisions  as  possible  to  the  rear.  At  night  the 
two  armies  camped  within  cannon-shot  of  each 
other's  camp-fires.  During  the  night  Washington 
threw  back  his  right  wing  to  a  better  position, 
and  constructed  further  intrenchments  and  re- 
doubts. These  further  defences  appeared  to  be 
more  formidable  than  they  really  were,  as  they 
were  made  by  pulling  up  cornstalks  with  the  ends 
to  which  the  earth  adhered  turned  towards  the 
enemy,  and  covered  with  earth  on  top.  These 
defences  were  thrown  up  with  ease  and  in  so  short 
a  time  that  they  could  be  built  to  look  like  great 
solidly  constructed  works.  On  the  29th,  there- 
fore, when  Howe  saw  them,  he  concluded  to  post- 
pone his  attack  and  send  for  reinforcements.  In 
the  meantime  he,  too,  threw  up  intrenchments. 
Washington  saw  that  if  he  remained  in  his  present 
position  he  would  eventually  be  outflanked  by 
Howe,  so,  on  the  night  of  the  3ist  of  October,  he 
retreated  to  the  rocky  hills  near  Northcastle,  some 
miles  in  rear.  Here  he  again  set  to  work  to  for- 
tify his  position,  but  Howe  realised  that  he  could 
not  dislodge  him  from  such  a  strong  position  as 
he  now  held,  and  on  the  night  of  the  4th  of 
November  he  began  a  retrograde  movement  in 
the  direction  of  Dobb's  Ferry. 
For  some  time  after  Howe  retired  Washington 


io8      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

was  in  great  perplexity  as  to  what  the  enemy  in- 
tended to  do  next.  He  did  not  suppose  Howe 
would  take  his  whole  army  to  attack  Fort  Wash- 
ington, yet  that  seemed  to  be  the  only  other  point 
he  could  strike.  Learning  that  Howe  had  col- 
lected a  number  of  boats  on  the  river,  he  concluded 
that  the  latter  contemplated  a  foray  through  New 
Jersey.  Howe  settled  the  question  by  investing 
Fort  Washington. 

The  fort  was  now  garrisoned  by  more  men  than 
it  would  hold,  and  as  more  British  ships  had  as- 
cended the  river  past  it  and  Fort  Lee,  and  the 
enemy  seemed  to  be  able  to  get  by  whenever  it  so 
pleased  them,  Washington  could  not  see  what  use 
it  would  be  to  expose  the  force  at  Fort  Washing- 
ton to  capture.  He  suggested  to  Greene  that  the 
garrison  retire.  Greene,  however,  was  firmly  con- 
vinced of  the  necessity  for  holding  Fort  Wash- 
ington. He  claimed  that  the  forts  had  done  great 
damage  to  the  British  ships  that  had  passed,  and 
that  the  investment  of  the  fort  would  keep  at  least 
twice  the  number  of  the  garrison  of  the  enemy's 
force  busy  and  away  from  the  main  army.  More- 
over Colonel  Magaw,  in  command  of  the  fort,  was 
confident  he  could  hold  it  against  any  and  all 
comers,  until  the  end  of  December  at  least.  Both 
he  and  Greene  insisted  also  that  Magaw  could 
retreat  from  it  at  will,  and  take  off  his  stores  with 
him.  In  the  end  Washington  left  matters  in  the 
discretion  of  Greene,  in  whom  he  had  most  im- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       109 

plicit  confidence.  Lee  was  at  this  time  exceed- 
ingly jealous  of  Greene's  influence  with'  Washing- 
ton, and  advised  the  abandonment  of  the  fort. 
Lee  was  right  and  Greene  wrong,  and  I  will  tell 
you  later  of  all  that  arose  from  this  jealousy  of 
Lee's. 

Washington  now  made  preparations  to  distrib- 
ute his  army  so  that  it  could  defend  the  Jerseys 
as  well  as  New  York.  He  detached  all  the  troops 
belonging  to  the  states  west  of  the  Hudson  to  the 
Jerseys  under  the  command  of  Putnam.  Heath 
and  Clinton  with  the  New  York,  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut  troops  were  to  defend  the  High- 
lands of  the  Hudson.  The  remaining  troops  were 
to  remain  at  Northcastle  under  the  command  of 
General  Lee.  Again  Washington  refrained  from 
giving  Lee  positive  orders,  but  left  matters  largely 
in  his  discretion,  merely  making  certain  recom- 
mendations. Among  these  recommendations  was 
that  of  retreating  to  the  passes  of  the  Highlands 
should  he  be  threatened  with  attack,  for  Washing- 
ton feared  that  the  British  preparations  for  an 
invasion  of  the  Jerseys  was  but  a  feint  to  get  him 
to  weaken  his  army  at  Northcastle. 

Washington  now  joined  Heath  and  made  a  tour 
of  inspection  of  the  forts  along  the  river  in  the 
Highlands  of  the  Hudson.  On  the  I2th  of  Novem- 
ber, Washington  crossed  the  Hudson  below  Stony 
Point,  where  the  remainder  of  the  army  des- 
tined for  the  defence  of  the  Jerseys  was  com- 


no      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

mencing  its  march.  He  did  not  proceed  with 
them  but  went  on  to  Fort  Lee,  as  he  was  anxious 
about  the  condition  of  affairs  at  Fort  Washington, 
and  still  more  convinced  that  it  would  be  well  to 
abandon  the  fort.  His  departure  left  Lee  and 
Heath  with  separate  commands  and  separate  in- 
structions, though  Lee  was  the  superior  in  rank. 
Heath,  though  brought  up  on  a  farm,  had  a  pas- 
sion for  military  pursuits  and  had  studied  every 
treatise  on  the  art  of  war  in  the  English  language. 
He  considered  himself  well  acquainted  with  the 
theory  of  war  from  the  duties  of  a  private  soldier 
up.  He  was  a  man  of  peculiar  character,  scrupu- 
lous in  obeying  the  letter  of  his  instructions,  but 
devoid  of  self-reliance  and  utterly  opposed  to  any 
assumption  of  authority  whatever. 

Washington  remained  some  days  at  Fort  Lee 
discussing  with  Greene  the  advisability  of  evacuat- 
ing Fort  Washington.  Indeed,  he  was  disap- 
pointed that  Greene  had  not  already  concluded  to 
do  so.  But  Greene  was  still  of  the  opinion  that 
the  fort  should  be  held,  and  Magaw  still  confident 
that  he  could  hold  it.  Magaw  mistakenly  assumed 
that  the  British  could  not  cross  the  Harlem,  and 
that,  therefore,  he  could  retire  at  any  time  that 
he  wished. 

Washington  was  still  of  the  opinion  that  Howe 
meant  something  more  by  his  inaction  than  the 
reduction  of  this  fort,  but  the  latter  soon  put  all 
doubts  on  the  subject  at  rest.  On  the  night  of 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      in 

the  I4th  he  had  thirty  flat-bottomed  boats  sent 
up  the  Hudson  past  the  fort,  thence  through 
Spuyten  Duyvil  Creek  into  the  Harlem  River,  and 
thus  supplied  himself  with  means  to  cross  the 
Harlem,  and  attack  an  unprotected  part  of  the 
fort.  Howe  now  summoned  the  fort  to  surrender, 
threatening  to  give  no  quarter  if  he  was  compelled 
to  take  it  by  storm.  Washington  was  on  a  short 
visit  of  inspection- at  Hackensack.  Greene  sent  for 
Washington  hurriedly,  and  threw  reinforcements 
into  an  already  overcrowded  fort.  Putnam  was 
with  him,  and  even  he  thought  the  fort  capable 
of  making  a  good  defence. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  FORT  WASHINGTON — WASHING- 
TON'S BRILLIANT  RETREAT  THROUGH  THE 
JERSEYS — THE  SCHEMES  AND  CAPTURE  OF 
LEE — THE  STORMING  OF  FORT  WASHINGTON 

EARLY  on  the  morning  of  the  i6th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1776,  Colonel  Magaw  made  his  dispositions 
to  repel  attack.  He  had  about  three  thousand 
men.  The  fort  was  built  to  accommodate  but 
about  one  thousand.  You  must  understand,  Boy, 
that  more  could  have  been  sheltered  within  the 
fort  temporarily,  but  only  that  number  could  fight 
to  advantage  in  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  a  fort  is 
constructed  on  mathematical  principles,  by  which 
the  amount  of  ground  enclosed  by  the  parapets 
will  just  about  give  comfortable  living-room  for 
the  precise  number  of  men  needed  to  defend  it. 
More  can  seek  a  refuge  in  it  for  a  short  time,  but 
are  useless  incumbrances. 

So  Magaw  posted  Colonel  Cadwalader  with  an- 
other third  in  the  outer  lines,  about  two  miles  and 
a-half  south  of  the  fort.  Colonel  Rawlings,  a 
celebrated  Marylander,  with  a  battery  of  three 
guns,  was  posted  on  a  precipitous  hill  north  of  the 

112 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       113 

fort.  Colonel  Baxter,  with  the  remainder,  a  bare 
regiment,  was  posted  on  the  wooded  heights  bor- 
dering the  Harlem  River. 

Against  the  fort  Sir  William  Howe  planned 
four  simultaneous  attacks.  Knyphausen,  the 
Hessian  commander,  was  to  advance  in  two  col- 
umns on  the  north.  General  Mathew  was  to  cross 
the  Harlem  in  flat  boats  and  land  on  the  right  of 
the  fort.  Colonel  Stirling  was  to  attack  the  ex- 
treme left  of  the  intrenchments.  Lord  Percy  was 
to  attack  the  right  flank  of  the  American  intrench- 
ments facing  New  York.  So  two  attacks  were 
planned  against  the  fort  proper,  and  two  against 
the  line  of  works  facing  the  city. 

About  noon  the  attack  began  with  a  fierce  can- 
nonading. Colonel  Rahl  led  one  \livision  of 
Knyphausen's  command,  and  the  latter  led  the 
other  in  person.  We  shall  have  to  remember 
Colonel  Rahl,  for  he  was  destined  to  defeat  and 
death,  but  a  few  weeks  later,  while  celebrating 
Christmas.  He  succeeded  in  his  difficult  attack 
on  the  fort,  however,  while  Knyphausen  was  badly 
handled  by  Rawlings.  General  Mathew  was 
severely  handled  by  Baxter,  too.  But  he  suc- 
ceeded in  crossing  the  river  and  driving  Baxter's 
men  in  after  the  gallant  American  had  been  killed 
by  a  British  officer.  This  left  Mathew  free  to 
turn  against  Cadwalader,  who  was  well  to  the 
south,  to  cut  him  off  from  the  fort. 

Cadwalader,  however,  did  the  greatest  fighting 


ii4      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

of  the  day.  He  manfully  held  his  ground  against 
Percy,  until  he  heard  of  Stirling's  attack  on  his 
left  and  rear.  He  even  defended  himself  against 
Stirling  also  for  some  time,  but  was  finally  com- 
pelled to  leave  his  intrenchments  and  make  for  the 
fort.  And  he  had.  to  fight  desperately  to  get  to  the 
fort,  too,  for  he  was  all  but  surrounded. 

In  the  same  way  Rawlings  was  eventually  at- 
tacked by  Rahl,  while  he  was  easily  holding 
Knyphausen.  The  combined  columns  of  Hes- 
sians drove  him  into  the  fort,  and  now  a  second 
demand  was  made  to  the  garrison  to  surrender, 
with  the  usual  threat  of  no  quarter  if  the  British 
and  Hessians  were  obliged  to  take  it  by  storm. 
And  that  the  threat  was  meant  was  plainly  evi- 
dent ;  as  th£  Hessians  had  been  giving  no  quarter 
in  their  previous  attacks. 

From  the  opposite  side  of  the  Hudson,  Wash- 
ington had  been  watching  the  engagement.  He 
was  delighted  with  Cadwalader's  great  fighting, 
but  dismayed  when  he  saw  the  latter  give  way. 
When  he  saw  the  Hessians  in  Lord  Percy's  com- 
mand bayoneting  such  of  Cadwalader's  men  as 
could  not  escape  into  the  fort,  though  they  fell  on 
their  knees  and  prayed  for  quarter  and  mercy, 
Washington  wept  like  a  child. 

When  he  saw  the  flag  go  into  the  fort  a  second 
time  he  knew,  of  course,  that  it  was  another  de- 
mand for  a  surrender.  So  he  sent  a  message 
across  to  Magaw,  telling  the  latter  that  if  he  could 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      115 

hold  out  until  evening,  he  would  try  to  bring  the 
garrison  off  across  the  rjver  during  the  night. 
This  message  was  carried  to  Magaw  by  a  very 
brave  man,  Captain  Gooch,  who  crossed  the  Hud- 
son in  a  boat,  and  returning,  had  to  dodge  the 
Hessians,  who  were  now  surrounding  the  place, 
narrowly  escaping  death  at  the  hands  of  their 
bayonets.  The  message  that  Captain  Gooch 
brought  from  Magaw  told  Washington  that  all  was 
over  ;  and  soon  after  the  great  commander-in-chief 
suffered  the  humiliation  of  seeing  the  American 
flag  hauled  down  from  the  fort  and  the  English 
flag  run  up  in  its  place. 

So  Lee  was  right  and  Greene  was  wrong — the 
Fort  Washington  and  three  thousand  men  were 
lost,  the  Hudson  was  practically  orjbned  to  the 
British  up  to  the  Highlands,  and  the  northern 
part  of  the  state  was  threatened  by  Howe  and  his 
whole  army. 

Washington  immediately  wrote  to  Lee.  He 
really  wanted  to  have  Lee  leave  his  encampment 
at  Northcastle  and  fortify  himself  in  the  High- 
lands, thus  adding  to  their  protection  and  put- 
ting his  own  army  in  a  place  of  safety.  But  he 
did  not  actually  order  Lee  to  make  the  move, 
and  Lee  did  not  do  so.  In  his  reply  he  made  a 
slurring  illusion  to  Greene  as  a  man  of  inferior 
judgment.  But  his  jealousy  of  Greene  was  soon 
to  disappear  in  a  greater  one.  Lee  soon  began  to 
plot  against  Washington  himself,  who  was  now 


n6      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

blamed  for  trying  to  hold  the  fort.  We  know, 
however,  that  Washington  held  it  at  the  urgent 
request  of  Congress  and  by  the  advice  of  a  council 
of  war  of  his  officers,  against  his  own  better 
judgment. 

Short  enlistments  immediately  began  to  have 
their  effect  in  the  reduction  of  the  army  on  the 
west  of  the  Hudson.  In  a  very  short  time  Wash- 
ington had  but  about  two  thousand  men  under 
his  own  command,  and  but  about  the  same  num- 
ber on  the  east  of  the  Hudson.  This  was  all  that 
was  left  of  the  army  of  nearly  twenty  thousand 
that  he  had  at  the  beginning  of  the  campaign. 
This  was  one  of  Washington's  gloomy  periods. 
But  he  met  it  with  the  wonderful  fortitude  of  a 
truly  great  <han.  In  fact,  he  had  expected  it,  and 
had  fought  with  all  his  might  against  the  silly 
plan  of  short  enlistments.  He  foresaw  that  the 
war  would  be  a  long  one.  He  wanted  regular 
troops,  enlisted  for  a  period  of  at  least  three  years. 

By  the  fall  of  Fort  Washington,  Fort  Lee  was 
rendered  useless,  and  Washington  ordered  it  aban- 
doned. The  garrison  narrowly  escaped  capture 
by  the  English,  who  crossed  the  river  six  miles 
north  of  the  fort.  It  was  a  race,  in  fact,  to  the 
bridge  over  the  Hackensack  River,  and  the  Amer- 
icans lost  quantities  of  cannon  and  stores.  They 
even  left  their  tents  standing  and  their  camp  ket- 
tles over  the  fires,  such  was  their  hurry.  All  this 
made  Washington  more  anxious  to  have  Lee  turn 
• 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       117 

his  face  to  the  west.  He  even  wrote  Lee  to  cross 
to  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson.  But  Lee  now 
had  an  opportunity  for  his  own  advantage  ;  and 
he  had  no  intention  of  helping  Washington  out  of 
the  difficulties  that  confronted  him. 

Now  occurred  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  in- 
cidents of  the  war — and  one  of  the  most  extraor- 
dinary incidents  of  Washington's  whole  life. 
Colonel  Reed,  Washington's  adjutant-general  and 
bosom  friend,  lost  confidence  in  him  and  looked 
to  Lee  to  save  the  army  and  the  country.  He 
even  went  so  far  as  to  write  a  letter  to  Lee  criti- 
cising Washington  for  lack  of  decision,  and  telling 
Lee  that  his  presence  alone  could  restore  con- 
fidence. 

That  was  enough  to  start  the  ambitious  Lee. 
If  Washington  lost  the  confidence  of  the  people 
he,  Lee,  would  become  commander-in-chief,  and 
after  that  ?  Well,  who  knows  but  in  his  camp  at 
Northcastle  he  began  to  dream  of  a  new  personage 
in  the  world's  history,  King  Charles  I.,  of  Amer- 
ica? He  began  writing  letters,  not  only  to  Reed, 
but  to  his  friends,  among  them  Gates ;  and  in  all 
"  an  indecisive  mind "  was  the  key-note.  That 
unfortunate  word  of  Reed's  came  near  to  causing 
great  trouble  for  America.  But  just  as  there  is 
a  God  of  Battles,  so  there  is  a  God  of  Human 
Events  ;  and  the  eventful  sufferers  from  the  foolish 
word  that  sprang  from  Reed's  discouraged  mind 
were  none  other  than  Reed  and  Lee  themselves. 


n8      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Washington  now  feared  being  caught  between 
the  Hackensack  and  Passaic  rivers  and  retreated 
to  the  vicinity  of  Newark.  The  ships  of  the  enemy 
gave  them  the  opportunity  to  use  rivers  to  throw 
a  force  in  his  rear.  He  was  already  confronted  by 
more  than  double  his  command  in  front.  In  spite 
of  himself,  he  had  to  play  fox  to  the  English 
hounds.  He  wore  the  lion's  skin  by  right,  but  he 
was  not  lacking  in  ability  to  piece  it  out  with  the 
fox's  should  the  necessity  arise. 

He  relied  upon  Lee  to  reinforce  him.  Lee  de- 
layed purposely,  at  the  same  time  giving  Wash- 
ington the  idea  that  he  was  moving.  On  the  24th 
of  November,  Reed  being  absent  from  the  army, 
Washington  opened  (as  he  had  a  perfect  right  to 
do)  an  official  communication  from  Lee  to  Reed. 
It  proved  to  be  a  personal  letter  to  Reed.  To 
Washington's  surprise  and  dismay,  Lee  was  still  in 
his  camp  at  Northcastle.  All  he  had  done  was  to 
order  General  Heath  (over  whom  he  had  no  author- 
ity) to  cross  the  Hudson.  Washington  wrote  an 
answer  telling  Lee  plainly  that  it  was  his  force  that 
was  wanted.  Then  followed  a  daily  correspond- 
ence, during  which  Washington  retreated  still 
further,  to  Brunswick.  Here  Washington  opened 
another  letter  from  Lee  to  Reed.  It  proved  to 
be  a  personal  letter,  and  it  told  Washington  the 
true  state  of  affairs  between  Reed  and  Lee.  An 
ordinary  man  would  have  given  up  in  despair 
under  such  difficulties,  and  learning  of  the  per- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       119 

sonal  treason  of  his  supposedly  best  friend.  But 
Washington  did  nothing  ,qf  the  kind.  He  wrote 
a  cold  letter  to  Reed,  enclosing  the  opened  letter. 
It  broke  the  friendship  of  the  two  men,  though 
Reed  begged  for  forgiveness.  Indeed,  in  after 
years  Washington  did  forgive  him,  but  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  they  were  ever  again  such  bosom  friends  as 
they  had  been. 

Washington  waited  at  Brunswick  until  the  1st 
of  December,  hoping  for  reinforcements  In  the 
meantime  the  enemy  advanced  upon  him,  robbing 
the  people  as  they  marched  of  provisions,  horses, 
waggons  and  cattle.  When  they  reached  the  Rari- 
tan,  Washington  partially  destroyed  the  bridge ; 
and,  while  Captain  Hamilton  held  the  ford  with 
his  field-pieces,  again  retreated — this  time  to 
Trenton.  He,  however,  left  two  thin  brigades 
under  Generals  Stirling  and  Stephen  at  Princeton. 

The  people  of  New  Jersey  were  now  exposed  to 
the  ravages  of  the  enemy.  They  knew  little  of 
war  and  its  horrors  and  had  been  slow  to  enlist  in 
the  cause  for  freedom.  Many  of  them  were  rank 
Tories  and  the  others  too  often  regarded  the  war 
but  a  rebellion  which  was  all  but  put  down.  But 
the  manner  in  which  they  were  treated  by  the 
British  and  the  still  worse  treatment  they  received 
at  the  hands  of  the  Hessians  (who  recognised  no 
distinction  between  Tory  and  Whig)  soon  made 
them  boiling  mad ;  and  in  the  end  they  divided 
sharply,  as  had  all  the  other  states,  eventually 


120       HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

coming  nobly  to  the  support  of  the  cause.  But  at 
this  time,  when  Lord  Howe  offered  a  pardon  to 
such  rebels  as  would  return  home  and  desist  from 
further  treasonable  acts,  many  of  the  few  sup- 
porters of  the  Revolution  took  advantage  of  the 
opportunity. 

Lee  in  the  meantime  had  begun,  reluctantly,  to 
move.  On  the  3<Dth  of  November  he  reached 
Peekskill.  But  he  did  not  cross  the  Hudson  until 
the  4th  of  December,  spending  the  intervening 
time  in  a  quarrel  with  General  Heath.  Lee  wanted 
Heath  to  reinforce  him  so  that  he  might  alone 
make  battle  with  the  British  and  free  the  Jerseys, 
which  Washington  had  failed  to  do.  In  the  mean- 
time Washington  moved  his  heavier  military  stores 
across  the  Delaware  into  Pennsylvania.  Then 
being  reinforced  by  about  fifteen  hundred  Penn- 
sylvania troops,  he  took  forward  about  the  same 
number  to  Prince'ton  to  reinforce  Generals  Stirling 
and  Stephen. 

So  you  will  see,  Boy,  that  Washington  was  in 
front  of  the  enemy  with  a  small  force  and  Lee  in  rear 
of  it.  Even  a  boy  can  see  that  the  English  could 
turn  on  either  part  of  this  divided  army  and  crush 
it.  No  one  knew  this  better  than  Lee.  He  should 
have  been  on  the  flank  of  the  English,  and  while 
annoying  them,  at  the  same  time  moving  rapidly 
to  join  Washington.  But  Lee  wanted  an  oppor- 
tunity to  win  laurels  for  himself.  So  he  moved 
slowly  and  was  far  in  rear  of  the  army  of  Corn- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       121 

vvallis,  loitering  and  speculating  on  the  dearth  of 
military  genius  in  the  American  army,  meaning,  of 
course,  Washington's  own  inability. 

Cornwallis,  well  aware  of  Lee's  position,  made 
a  forced  march  upon  Princeton.  The  Americans 
retreated  to  Trenton,  and  there  crossed  the  river, 
destroying  all  the  boats  after  crossing.  The  rear- 
guard was  barely  across  when  Cornwallis  "  came 
marching  down  with  all  the  pomp  of  war  in  great 
expectation  of  getting  boats  and  immediately  pur- 
suing." But  Cornwallis  was  disappointed  about 
the  boats  and  was  brought  to  a  standstill.  He 
gave  up  all  thought  of  pursuit,  therefore,  and  it 
now  being  well  into  December,  distributed  his 
Germans  in  cantonments  along  the  Delaware  on 
the  Jersey  side ;  and,  with  his  main  body  went 
into  winter  quarters,  temporarily,  at  Brunswick. 
He  hoped  to  be  able  to  cross  the  river  on  the  ice, 
later,  and  complete  the  campaign. 

Lee  had  now  (December  8th)  only  reached  Mor- 
ristown.  Washington  was  ordering  him  to  join. 
Lee  was  delaying  for  reinforcements,  which  he 
expected  from  Gates.  The  next  day,  at  Chatham, 
he  heard  that  these  reinforcements  were  at  Peeks- 
kill.  He  wrote  General  Heath  to  forward  them 
promptly.  "  I  am  in  hopes,"  said  he,  "  to  recon- 
quer the  Jerseys."  Besides  the  three  regiments 
just  mentioned,  four  more  under  the  immediate 
command  of  Gates  were  behind  them.  Lee 
moved  his  army  to  Vealtown,  but  eight  miles  from 


122      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Morristown,  leaving  General  Sullivan  in  command 
and  taking  up  quarters  himself  at  Baskingridge, 
three  miles  away.  He  was  here  protected  by  but 
a  small  guard.  On  the  morning  of  the  I3th  Colo- 
nel Scammel,  the  adjutant-general,  waited  upon 
him  for  orders  for  General  Sullivan.  Colonel 
Wilkinson,  of  General  Gates'  staff,  was  also  there, 
seeking  orders  for  the  latter's  command.  Lee 
was  under  orders  from  Washington  to  move  to 
Alexandria  on  the  Delaware,  where  boats  had  been 
collected  for  him  to  cross.  He  gave  orders,  how- 
ever, for  Sullivan  to  move  with  the  army  to 
Pluckamin,  on  the  road  to  Brunswick  and  Prince- 
ton. There  was  no  doubt  that  he  meant  to  diso- 
bey Washington  and  attack  the  British  on  his  own 
account.  But  the  Great  Jehovah,  called  upon  by 
Ethan  Allen,  was  evidently  watching  American 
interests  with  a  particularly  keen  eye  that  day. 
No  sooner  had  Scammel  departed  than  an  insigni- 
ficant detachment  of  English  dragoons  surrounded 
the  tavern,  drove  off  Lee's  guard  and  captured 
him.  They  made  him  mount  Wilkinson's  horse, 
bareheaded  and  in  his  slippers,  and  galloped  off 
with  him  to  Brunswick  ;  where,  three  hours  later, 
the  booming  of  cannon  told  the  Americans  of  the 
j.oy  of  the  British  at  capturing  the  so-called 
"American  Palladium."  Wilkinson  (escaping) 
jumped  on  the  first  horse  he  could  find  and  made 
for  General  Sullivan,  who  was  already  on  the  march 
to  Pluckamin.  He  told  the  latter  of  Lee's  cap- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      123 

ture.  Sullivan,  finding  himself  in  command,  im- 
mediately changed  the  route  of  his  march  to  join 
Washington  and  sent  Wilkinson  back  to  Gates 
with  orders  to  do  the  same. 

Lee's  own  carelessness  had  ruined  his  ambitious 
project  within  a  few  hours  after  he  had  finally 
resolved  upon  it. 


CHAPTER    X 

THE  BATTLES  OF  TRENTON  AND  PRINCETON 

MAGNANIMOUS  Washington,  fully  aware  of 
Lee's  ambitions  and  disobedience,  merely  ex- 
pressed to  Congress  his  keen  sense  of  the  loss  of 
Lee's  services  to  the  American  cause.  To  Con- 
gress he  also  made  an  appeal  for  more  troops,  and 
before  adjourning  they  clothed  him  with  "  all 
power  to  order  and  direct  all  things  relative  to  the 
department  and  to  the  operations  of  war  until  they 
should  otherwise  order."  This  enabled  him  to 
raise  some  new  companies,  offer  bounties  to  those 
whose  enlistments  were  expiring  for  six  weeks' 
more 'service,  and  to  recruit  three  battalions  of 
artillery.  The  local  militia  turned  out  in  good 
numbers,  and  Colonel  John  Cadwalader  brought 
a  large  detachment  of  troops  from  the  city  of 
Philadelphia.  In  addition,  General  Sullivan  ar- 
rived on  the  20th  of  December,  with  the  troops 
recently  under  the  command  of  Lee.  But  they 
were  in  a  wretched  condition,  ill-fed,  sick  and  des- 
titute of  almost  everything.  General  Gates  ar- 
rived the  same  day  with  the  four  regiments  he  had 

been  bringing  from  Peekskill. 
124 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       125 

Washington  now  had  quite  an  army  at  his  com- 
mand, compared  with  what  it  had  been  ;  but  in 
ten  days,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  it  would  dwindle 
to  a  bare  fifteen  hundred.  The  enlistments  of 
almost  all  of  his  men  ran  out  at  the  end  of  the 
year  ;  and,  after  a  year  of  hard  fighting,  and  rough 
marching  (to  say  nothing  of  almost  continuous 
peril)  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they  should 
wish  to  go  to  their  homes.  The  wonder  is  that 
they  remained  with  their  regiments  so  faithfully. 
It  was  mid-winter.  The  year  had  been  a  disas- 
trous one.  A  new  army  could  not  be  assembled 
until  spring ;  and  the  number  that  could  be  then 
assembled  would  depend  very  much  on  the  con- 
clusions drawn  by  the  country  of  the  campaign 
during  the  preceding  year. 

If  ever  a  victory  was  needed  it  was  needed  then. 
There  were  still  ten  days — ten  precious  winter 
days  left  of  the  year  1776.  What  could  man  do 
in  that  time  against  a  superior  enemy? 

A  genius  could  prove  his  genius  perhaps.  And 
that  is  exactly  what  Washington  did.  At  dinner, 
during  the  next  few  days,  Colonel  Wilkinson 
noticed  that  Washington  seemed  "  pensive  and 
solemn  in  the  extreme."  But  under  his  solemn 
aspect  his  giant  mind  was  hard  at  work. 

Vastly  different  was  Howe,  the  British  com- 
mander. He  was  at  New  York  indulging  himself 
in  amusement  and  indolence.  His  troops  were 
carelessly  scattered  from  Brunswick  to  the  Del- 


126      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

aware.  The  Hessians  were  in  advance,  along  the 
river  and  at  various  detached  points  near  it.  Corn- 
wallis  was  also  in  New  York,  about  to  leave  for 
England,  on  a  short  leave  of  absence.  All  told, 
Washington  had  about  six  thousand  men.  But 
they  were  eager  to  fight  while  still  in  the  army, 
even  though  their  enlistments  were  nearly  out. 
Revenge  on  the  Hessians,  who  had  committed 
such  injuries  on  their  homes,  would  be  sweet  to 
them  indeed.  Moreover,  they  had  no  longer  such 
a  dread  fear  of  the  Hessians.  The  latter  had  be- 
come careless  and  ease-taking.  Their  discipline 
was  growing  lax. 

At  Trenton  there  was  a  brigade  of  three  regi- 
ments of  Hessians.  It  was  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Rahl,  who  had  so  distinguished  himself 
at  Fort  Washington.  He  was  a  brave  but  careless 
man,  more  in  love  with  music,  especially  during 
the  holiday  period,  than  with  duty.  He,  too, 
liked  his  ease.  His  officers  advised  him  to  throw 
up  works  for  defence. 

"  Works — pooh — pooh  !  "  answered  the  Colonel. 
"  Let  the  rebels  come.  We'll  give  them  the  bay- 
onet." 

Washington  communicated  his  plan  of  striking 
the  Hessians  at  Trenton  to  Gates.  Gates  had  the 
same  opinion  of  Washington  that  Lee,  his  friend, 
had.  He  begged  to  be  excused  ;  pleaded  ill-health 
as  a  reason  for  not  joining  in  the  enterprise,  and 
went  to  Philadelphia.  He  did  not  go  to  Bristol, 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      127 

as  Washington  requested,  to  adjust  the  small  dif- 
ficulties between'the  regulars  and  volunteers,  who 
were  watching  the  Hessians  at  Bordentown ;  and, 
concert  with  Cadwalader  and  Reed,  a  plan  of  oper- 
ations against  them.  Gates  believed  that  Wash- 
ington would  fail,  and  that  the  English  would  soon 
take  Philadelphia.  He  intended  to  go  on  to  lay 
a  plan  of  his  own  before  Congress,  at  Baltimore. 

Washington  proceeded  with  the  scheme  alone, 
and,  thanks  to  Gates'  lack  of  confidence  in  him, 
alone  gets  the  credit  for  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
manoeuvres  in  the  history  of  the  wars  of  the 
American  Republic. 

His  plan  was  to  cross  the  Delaware  River,  him- 
self, about  nine  miles  above  Trenton,  and  march 
upon  Rahl.  At  the  same  time  General  Ewing 
was  to  cross  about  a  mile  below  Trenton,  and  se- 
cure possession  of  a  bridge  across  the  Assunpink, 
a  creek  that  flows  along  the  southern  edge  of  the 
town,  thus  cutting  off  their  retreat.  And  while 
this  attack  was  being  made  on  Rahl,  Putnam,  with 
troops  from  Philadelphia,  where  they  had  been 
fortifying  the  city,  and  Cadwalader  from  Bristol, 
were  to  cross  lower  down  the  river  at  Burlington, 
and  fall  upon  the  lower  Hessian  posts  under  com- 
mand of  Count  Donop.^  Christmas  night  was  fixed 
on  for  the  undertaking.  It  was  known  that  the 
Hessians  would  celebrate  the  day,  and  it  was  sup- 
posed that  many  of  them  would  be  under  the 
influence  of  liquor. 


128      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Putnam  was  held  in  Philadelphia  because  of  a 
feared  insurrection.  He  sent  six  hundred  men  to 
Cadwalader's  aid,  however. 

Washington,  with  two  thousand  men,  under 
Generals  Greene,  Sullivan,  Mercer,  Stephen  and 
Stirling,  began  to  cross  the  Delaware  at  McKon- 
key's  Ferry,  about  sunset.  As  at  the  retreat  from 
Long  Island,  the  regiment  of  Marblehead  fisher- 
men, under  Colonel  Glover,  were  invaluable.  Colo- 
nel Knox  superintended  the  crossing  of  the  ar- 
tillery, his  strong  lungs  giving  orders  above  the 
din  and  rumble  of  the  artillery,  being  a  guide  for 
the  boats  as  they  passed  over  and  back. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  TRENTON 

Though  the  crossing  began  at  sunset  it  was 
nearly  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  before  the  little 
army  took  up  its  line  of  march.  As  there  were 
but  two  thousand  men  the  difficulty  of  the  under- 
taking can  be  imagined  from  the  length  of  time 
occupied.  This  late  start  made  it  impossible  to 
surprise  Trenton,  as  Washington  had  hoped,  for 
it  was  nine  miles  away.  There  was  no  turning 
back,  however.  That  would  have  been  more  dan- 
gerous than  going  forward.  The  army  moved 
forward,  therefore,  in  two  columns,  one  under 
Washington  and  Greene  making  for  the  northern 
end  of  the  town  ;  the  other  under  Generals  Sulli- 
van and  St.  Clair  taking  the  river  road  to  the  west- 
ern side  of  Trenton. 


00 
N 


O 
oi 

u 

2 
O 


^^^•G.   i  •    of 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       129 

Rahl  had  been  /warned  of  the  intended  attack. 
He  had  supposed  it  was  to  be  made  by  one 
column,  and  that  a  mere  detachment  under  Gen- 
eral Stirling.  At  the  very  time  that  Washington 
was  preparing  to  cross  the  river  the  evening  before 
(a  stirring  Christmas  night  that  must  have  been, 
Boy)  there  was  an  alarm  at  one  of  Rahl's  out- 
posts. The  whole  garrison  flew  to  arms  and 
hastened  in  the  direction  of  the  firing,  finding 
upon  their  arrival  that  some  six  men  had  been 
wounded  by  a  party  of  Americans  who  had  sud- 
denly come  out  of  the  woods  and  as  suddenly 
departed.  Rahl  supposed  this  to  be  the  attack 
of  which  he  had  been  warned.  He  concluded 
that  it  was  a  mere  flash  in  the  pan  and  returned 
to  Trenton,  where  he  remained  blissfully  at  ease 
and  utterly  unconscious  of  the  fate  that  was  soon 
to  overtake  him.  No  one  has  ever  been  able  to 
determine,  accurately,  what  party  of  Americans  it 
was  that  gave  this  alarm  to  Rahl  and  assisted  so 
materially  in  the  attack  on  Trenton  by  lulling 
Rahl  into  a  sense  of  security. 

Snow  and  hail  began  to  fall  as  the  little  Ameri- 
can army,  Washington's  forlorn  hope  now,  began 
its  march.  Two  men  were  frozen  to  death  on  the 
road  and  most  of  the  muskets  were  rendered  unfit 
for  use  by  the  storm.  But  the  Americans  pushed 
on  with  the  determination  to  themselves  rely  on 
the  bayonet.  Under  the  circumstances  Sullivan, 
however,  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  his 
9 


1 3o      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

column  and  their  almost  useless  guns.  So  he 
went  to  Washington  for  orders.  The  orders  came 
back  sharp  and  severe.  "  Advance  and  charge," 
were  the  orders. 

About  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  Washing- 
ton's column  neared  the  city.  The  snow  dead- 
ened the  noise  of  the  march  and  the  rumble  of 
the  artillery.  Moreover,  it  kept  every  one  within 
doors.  Even  the  pickets  were  not  alert.  The 
first  approached  was  nearly  captured  bodily  by 
the  advance  guard  (in  which,  by  the  way,  there 
was  a  young  lieutenant,  James  Monroe,  who 
afterward  became  President  of  the  United 
States). 

For  once  in  the  history  of  battle  two  attacks 
were  made  exactly  as  planned,  simultaneously. 
As  Washington's  column  became  engaged  with 
the  Hessian  outposts  they  could  hear  Sullivan's 
guns  at  the  other  end  of  the  town. 

In  the  town  the  drums  now  beat  the  alarm,  and 
the  trumpets  called  the  light  horse  and  dragoons 
to  "boots  and  saddles."  Some  of  the  Hessians 
tried  to  form  in  the  streets,  but  they  were  too 
late.  Others  fired  from  the  windows  of  houses  in 
which  they  had  been  quartered.  Sullivan  detached 
Stark  to  press  on  to  the  southern  end  of  the 
town.  They  nearly  captured  the  light  horse  and 
some  Hessians  quartered  there.  But  the  latter 
took  headlong  flight  by  the  bridge  across  the 
Assunpink,  which  was  to  have  been  held  by 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      131 

General  Ewing.  Ewing  was  prevented  from 
crossing  the  Delaware  by  the  quantity  of  ice  in 
the  river. 

For  his  part,  Colonfel  Rahl  lost  his  head  com- 
pletely. He  tried  bravely  to  rally  his  astonished 
and  panic-stricken  troops ;  but  he  did  not,  him- 
self, know  which  way  to  turn.  He  got  his  troops 
out  of  the  town  proper  into  an  orchard,  eventu- 
ally; and  he  might  have  made  his  escape.  But 
the  idea  of  flying  before  the  despised  rebels  was 
little  to  his  liking.  He  had  been  greatly  enjoy- 
ing his  laurels  lately  earned  at  Fort  Washington, 
and  he  did  not  care  to  lose  them  so  soon.  So,  in- 
stead of  continuing  his  flight,  he  charged  back 
into  the  town  he  had  been  so  glad  to  escape  from 
a  few  minutes  before.  His  rashness  cost  him  his 
life  and  his  men  their  liberty.  He  was  mortally 
wounded  while  making  his  foolish  bayonet  charge, 
and  his  men,  refusing  to  obey  the  second  in  com- 
mand, tried  to  retreat  up  the  right  bank  of  the 
Assunpink  to  Princeton.  Washington  saw  their 
design  and  threw  Colonel  Hand  and  his  Pennsyl- 
vanians  across  their  path.  Then  they  surrendered, 
the  wounded  Colonel  Rahl,  supported  by  some  of 
his  sergeants,  himself  handing  Washington  his 
sword.  It  was  a  glorious  day  for  the  American 
cause.  But  it  would  have  been  a  still  more  glori- 
ous one  had  Ewing  and  Cadwalader  been  able  to 
cross  the  river.  Either  would  have  been  able  to 
head  off  and  capture  the  fleeing  British  and  Hes- 


1 32      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

'Sians  from  the  lower  part  of  the  town  and  pre- 
venting their  junction  with  Count  Donop. 

For  the  same  reason  Washington  was  now  in 
a  perilous  position.  Counf  Donop  had  a  larger 
force  than  he  possessed,  and  there  was  a  strong 
force  at  Princeton.  His  own  men  were  worn  out 
and  had  to  guard  about  a  thousand  prisoners.  He 
could  not  hope  to  hold  Trenton.  Before  leaving 
it,  however,  he  and  Greene  paid  a  consolatory 
visit  to  the  wounded  Colonel  Rahl,  who  died  and 
was  eventually  buried  there.  He  also  sent  his 
prisoners  into  Pennsylvania,  where  they  were 
soundly  reviled  for  hiring  themselves  into  service 
to  oppress  a  free  people.  Especially  were  they 
scolded  by  the  old  women.  At  length  Washing- 
ton had  to  take  measures  to  protect  them  from 
these  insults. 

Though  Ewing  and  Cadwalader  had  failed  to 
get  across  the  Delaware,  Colonel  Griffin,  who  had 
been  sent  out  by  Putnam,  succeeded.  He  made 
a  feint  against  Donop's  force  and  drew  the  latter 
after  him  for  a  considerable  distance.  When 
Donop  returned,  it  was  only  to  learn  of  the  dis- 
aster at  Trenton.  About  the  same  time  Cad- 
walader heard  of  it,  with  great  exultation,  as  may 
be  imagined.  He  now  determined  to  make  the 
attempt  to  cross  the  river  again,  and  succeeded  ; 
but  not  until  noon  of  the  2/th.  He  hardly  knew 
what  to  do,  but  decided  at  length  to  make  a  dem- 
onstration against  Donop,  if  nothing  more.  At 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      133 

Burlington  Cadwalader  learned  that  Donop  was 
in  full  retreat.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Hessians 
estimated  Washington's  force  at  from  six  to 
sixteen  thousand ;  and  Donop  was  running 
away  in  panic  from  an  inferior  force.  Then  Cad- 
walader pressed  on,  writing  to  Washington  for  or- 
ders and  saying :  "  If  we  can  drive  them  from  West 
Jersey,  the  success  will  raise  an  army  next  spring 
and  establish  the  credit  of  the  Continental  money 
to  support  it."  And  that  was  what  Washington 
had,  indeed,  done  in  less  than  a  week.  That  was 
the  result  of  his  planning  and  scheming  while  he 
seemed  so  solemn  to  Wilkinson,  the  observer. 

The  brilliant  victory  had  an  immediate  effect. 
Troops  began  to  arrive  reinforcing  both  Washing- 
ton and  Cadwalader,  and  the  Jersey  militia  flew  to 
arms  to  harass  the  enemy.  Heath  was  ordered 
from  the  Highlands  and  Washington  prepared 
for  another  stroke  after  allowing  his  men  a  day 
or  two  for  rest. 

In  the  meantime  the  angered  people,  who  had 
been  treated  so  badly  by  the  Hessians,  became 
patriots  indeed. 

On  the  29th  Washington  again  advanced  from 
the  Delaware  and  began  the  pursuit  of  Donop. 
The  latter  divided  his  command,  sending  one  part 
to  Princeton  and  the  other  to  Brunswick.  But 
the  enlistments  of  most  of  Washington's  haggard 
and  worn  command  were  up  on  the  next  day. 
He  absolutely  needed  them  and  to  keep  them 


134      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

offered  them  bounties  in  good  hard  cash.  To 
obtain  this  he  wrote  to  Robert  Morris,  the  finan- 
cier of  the  Revolution,  asking  him  for  anything 
in  the  shape  of  coin,  even  if  it  were  but  a  hundred 
pounds.  Morris,  himself  anxious  that  the  victory 
should  be  followed  up,  obtained  the  money  from 
a  wealthy  Quaker  and  sent  it  on  immediately. 

General  Howe  had  been  taking  things  easily  in 
New  York,  confident  that  when  the  Delaware 
froze  over  he  could  finish  the  campaign.  What 
were  his  feelings  when  he  heard  of  the  affair  of 
Trenton  and  of  the  headlong  flight  of  the  Hes- 
sians under  Donop !  He  stopped  Cornwallis, 
who  was  on  the  point  of  embarking  for  England, 
and  sent  him  back  into  the  field.  The  British 
now  assembled  in  the  vicinity  of  Princeton  and 
began  to  advance  their  large  pickets  towards 
Trenton,  which  meant  a  counter  attack  with 
vastly  superior  numbers  upon  Washington.  This 
put  Washington  in  danger  and  he  called  to  him 
the  commands  of  Cadwalader  and  Mifflin  (who 
had  reinforced  Cadwalader).  Yet  he  did  not  wish 
to  retreat  across  the  Delaware  without  striking  a 
blow  on  account  of  the  effect  it  would  have  on 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Jerseys. 

Washington  chose  a  position  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Assunpink,  planting  his  artillery  where  it 
could  cover  the  very  bridge  by  which  the  small 
body  of  Hessians  and  light  horse  had  escaped  from 
Trenton,  and  the  various  fords.  On  the  2d  of 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       135 

January,  1777,  in  the  early  morning  Washington 
heard  of  the  approach  of  Cornwallis.  About 
noon  the  British  drove  in  the  advance  guard. 
Near  the  town,  on  some  high  ground,  Colonel 
Hand  held  them  for  a  time  in  check ;  but,  event- 
ually, the  whole  body  of  Washington's  army 
stretched  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Assunpink. 
The  advance  of  Cornwallis  had  been  so  stub- 
bornly contested  by  the  advance  guard,  some 
outlying  detachments  and  Colonel  Hand,  how- 
ever, that  it  was  almost  sunset  when  Cornwallis 
drew  up  his  force  before  Washington's  army.  He 
tried  in  vain  to  force  the  bridges  and  fords,  but 
failed.  His  dense  columns  were  repeatedly  driven 
back  by  the  artillery.  At  length,  when  night 
fell,  Cornwallis  went  into  camp  and  waited  for 
the  morrow  to  avenge  the  disaster  at  Trenton. 
But  he  waited  for  one  of  those  morrows  that 
never  come.  He  made  his  boast,  however,  that 
he  would  "  bag  his  fox  in  the  morning." 

On  their  side  of  the  Assunpink  the  Americans 
lit  their  camp-fires,  and  the  two  armies  settled 
down  to  watch  each  other  during  the  night.  It 
was  the  most  gloomy  night  that  had  ever  settled 
upon  the  American  army.  The  morning  appar- 
ently could  bring  them  nothing  but  defeat.  It 
was  impossible  to  retreat  across  the  Delaware, 
and  even  if  such  a  retreat  could  be  effected  it 
would  but  leave  matters  where  they  were  when 
the  campaign  began,  with  nothing  to  show  for  all 


i36      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

of  the  army's  hard  work  and  hardships  but  a  mere 
thousand  Hessian  prisoners. 

Again  Washington  had  been  scheming,  how- 
ever. Most  of  the  British  force  was  now  in  his 
front.  But  a  small  force  could  have  been  left  at 
Princeton,  and  at  Brunswick  the  British  stores 
must  have  been  left  weakly  guarded.  There  was 
a  road  called  the  Quaker  road  parallel  to  that  on 
which  the  British  had  advanced.  Washington 
made  up  his  mind  to  march  by  this  road  past  the 
sleeping  British,  push  on  to  their  rear,  destroy 
their  force  at  Princeton  and  make  for  Brunswick. 
It  was  almost  the  scheme  of  a  desperate  man. 
But  it  promised  success  even  if  at  a  grfcat 
hazard. 

The  heavy  baggage  was  sent  back  to  Burling- 
ton, therefore,  and  Washington  to  deceive  the 
enemy  had  his  men  begin  to  dig  trenches  in  front 
of  his  position.  When  night  had  well  fallen 
Washington  drew  his  army  out  of  camp  and 
started  with  all  haste  for  Princeton.  He  left  be- 
hind a  few  men  to  continue  the  digging  of  the 
trenches  as  noisily  as  possible,  and  others  to  go 
the  rounds  of  the  guards,  relieving  sentries  and 
so  forth.  At  daybreak  all  these  were  to  hasten 
after  the  army  proper. 

The  Quakear  road  by  which  he  travelled  was  a 
roundabout  way  to  Princeton,  joining  the  Prince- 
ton road  over  which  Cornwallis  had  advanced 
only  about  two  miles  from  Princeton. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      137 

THE  BATTLE  OF  PRINCETON. 

It  was  almost  sunrise  when  Washington  with 
his  little  army  reached  the  vicinity  of  Princeton. 
He  crossed  Stony  Brook  about  three  miles  from 
the  town  and  took  a  short  cut,  little  exposed  to 
view,  towards  Princeton,  sending  Mercer  along 
the  main  road  with  the  advance  guard  to  destroy 
bridges  and  intercept  fugitives  or  check  any 
movement  of  the  British  in  the  town  towards 
Trenton.  As  Mercer  advanced  on  the  Quaker 
road  to  capture  the  bridge  over  Stony  Brook  on 
the  main  road,  he  was  seen  by  Colonel  Mawhood, 
of  the  British  i/th  regiment,  who  supposed  his 
force  was  a  small  body  of  Americans  fleeing 
from  Cornwallis.  He  faced  about,  therefore,  to 
intercept  them.  At  the  same  time  the  55th  regi- 
ment of  the  enemy  was  preparing  to  follow  Maw- 
hood  on  to  join  Cornwallis,  while  another  regiment 
(the  4Oth)  and  some  dragoons  were  still  in  the 
town.  Mawhood  could  not  tell  the  number  of 
the  Americans,  as  they  were  largely  hidden  by  the 
woods  between  the  two  roads.  He  sent  messen- 
gers to  hurry  out  the  other  regiments,  to  help 
make  the  capture,  however. 

When  Mawhood  had  recrossed  the  bridge  he 
came  in  full  sight  of  the  van  of  Mercer's  brigade. 
Both  Mawhood  and  Mercer  immediately  made  for 
some  rising  ground,  Mercer  reaching  it  first.  Here 
the  Americans  formed  behind  a  hedge  fence,  and 


I38      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

the  fight  began.  Mercer  was  wounded  at  the  first 
fire  of  the  British,  but  his  men  continued  a  de- 
structive fire  with  their  rifles,  until  the  enemy 
charged  with  their  bayonets.  As  the  riflemen 
were  not  armed  with  such  a  weapon  they  were 
obliged  to  retreat.  Mercer,  the  gallant,  tried, 
though  wounded,  to  rally  them.  A  British  soldier 
hit  him  on  the  head  with  his  clubbed  musket,  and, 
as  Mercer  tried  to  parry  the  blow  with  his  sword, 
others  bayoneted  him  repeatedly.  He  was  eventu- 
ally left  on  the  field  supposedly  dead. 

In  the  meantime  Washington  had  sent  a  body 
of  Pennsylvania  militia  back  to  aid  Mercer.  When 
Mawhood  discovered  their  approach  he  ceased 
his  pursuit  and  opened  on  this  new  force  with 
his  artillery,  which  brought  it  to  a  standstill.  Just 
then  Washington  arrived  on  the  scene  himself ; 
and,  realising  the  critical  state  of  affairs,  himself 
rallied  Mercer's  demoralised  troops,  galloping 
to  them  under  the  fire  of  Mawhood's  artillery. 
Never  was  Washington  in  more  peril  of  his  life 
than  at  this  time,  when  he  might  be  truthfully 
said  to  be  fighting  like  a  common  soldier.  The 
militia  Washington  had  sent  to  aid  Mercer  now 
rallied,  as  did  Mercer's  troops.  At  the  same  time 
the  /th  Virginia  regiment  moved  forward  into  the 
fight  with  cheers,  and  the  American  artillery 
opened  from  another  hill  to  the  south. 

Mawhood  was  now  in  great  danger.  From 
being  apparent  captor,  he  found  himself  practi- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       139 

cally  surrounded.  He  fought  with  great  bravery, 
however,  and  eventually  succeeded  in  breaking 
through  the  American  lines  and  making  good  his 
escape  along  the  main  road  to  Trenton.  After  he 
had  crossed  the  bridge  for  the  third  time  that 
morning  and  was  retreating,  Washington  had  the 
bridge  destroyed  to  prevent  the  rear-guard  of 
Cornwallis'  army  from  using  it  in  pursuit  when  he 
heard  of  the  battle. 

The  main  body  had  pushed  on  and  its  advance 
guard  had  met  the  55th  regiment.  This  soon 
gave  way  and  retreated  towards  Brunswick.  A 
part  of  the  4Oth  regiment  also  escaped  to  Bruns- 
wick, the  remainder  taking  refuge  in  the  college 
buildings,  where  they  were  eventually  captured. 

In  the  brief  action  of  Princeton  the  English  lost 
about  one  hundred  killed  and  three  hundred  taken 
prisoners,  while  the  American  loss  was  but  thirty 
or  thirty-five.  The  English,  lost  Captain  Leslie, 
son  of  the  Earl  of  Leven,  and  the  Americans  the 
brave  Colonel  Haslet.  But,  far  worse,  it  was  found 
that  the  gallant  and  efficient  General  Mercer  was 
mortally  wounded.  He  was  left  attended  by  his 
aide-de-camp,  Major  Armstrong,  at  the  house  of 
the  Mr.  Clark  who  owned  the  hill  upon  which 
his  men  had  fought.  There  he  afterwards  died. 

In  the  meantime  Washington  continued  the 
pursuit  of  the  British  towards  Brunswick.  He 
desired  to  take  that  place  and  destroy  the  stores 
there.  That  would  make  his  victory  complete. 


1 40      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

But  he  remembered  that  his  men  were  tired  out. 
The  rear-guard  of  Cornwallis'  army  was  but  six 
miles  from  Princeton  when  the  battle  opened  and 
must  even  now  be  nearing  him  in  pursuit.  They 
would  undoubtedly  overtake  him  before  he  could 
reach  Brunswick,  and  he  would  have  a  battle  on 
his  hands  with  greatly  fatigued  men.  To  destroy 
the  stores  at  -Brunswick,  therefore,  meant  the  pos- 
sible, even  probable,  destruction  of  his  own  army. 
He  was  as  prudent  as  he  was  wise  and  brave  ;  and 
he  decided,  therefore,  to  turn  off  towards  the 
heights  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Morristown. 
There  he  would  be  in  a  wooded  and  mountainous 
country,  where  he  could  get  abundant  supplies. 
He  would  be  on  the  flank  of  the  British  and  able 
to  harass  them  whenever  and  wherever  he  wished. 
He  turned  aside  at  Kingston  to  the  left,  and 
marched  to  Pluckamin,  where  he  halted  to  give 
his  tired  men  a  short  rest.  He  had  broken  down 
all  the  bridges  behind  him  and  was  practically  safe 
for  a  time  from  pursuit. 


CHAPTER  XI 

ARNOLD'S  BATTLE  ON  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN — EURO- 
PEAN VOLUNTEERS — PROMOTIONS — ARNOLD'S 
DISAPPOINTMENT  —  TRYON  AT  DANBURY  — 
MEIGS  AT  SAG  HARBOR 

IMAGINE  the  surprise  and  consternation  of  my 
Lord  Cornwallis  when  he  awoke  on  the  morning 
of  that  3d  of  January  to  find  Washington  and 
his  army  gone.  For  a  time,  while  he  nursed  his 
chagrin,  his  officers  sought  vainly  to  learn  whither 
Washington  had  fled.  At  length  the  booming  of 
cannon  in  the  direction  of  Princeton  told  his  as- 
tonished and  mortified  lordship  that  not  only  had 
Washington  escaped  him,  but  had  completely  out- 
generalled  him,  and  was  making  an  attack  on  his 
rear  with  the  evident  intention  of  destroying  his 
stores  at  Brunswick.  In  haste  Cornwallis  faced 
his  army  about  and  set  off  for  Princeton.  He 
reached  the  bridge  over  Stony  Brook  just  in  time 
to  see  the  Americans  complete  its  destruction  and 
hurry  away  after  their  main  body.  Completely 
angered,  Cornwallis  made  his  men  wade  the  breast- 
high  icy  stream  and  pushed  on.  But  Washing- 
ton had  turned  off  to  Pluckamin  and  Cornwallis, 

with  a  sigh  of  relief,  found  his  stores  at  Brunswick 

141 


1 42      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

safe.  He  no  longer  sneered  at  Washington's  cau- 
tion. He  no  longer  called  him  a  "  fox  that  he 
would  surely  bag."  Indeed  it  was  not  long  before 
the  whole  of  Europe  was  ringing  with  Washing- 
ton's praises,  and  he  was  now  called  the  "  Ameri- 
can Fabius." 

Washington  called  Putnam  from  Philadelphia, 
which  was  no  longer  in  danger,  and  set  him  at 
work  watching  Cornwallis.  The  latter  went  into 
cantonments  for  the  winter,  and  was  in  some  ways 
in  a  state  of  siege.  He  was  not  permitted  a  mo- 
ment's rest  by  the  sturdy  Americans.  He  could 
not  send  out  a  foraging  party  without  its  being 
attacked,  and,  if  not  captured,  at  least  roughly 
handled.  Meanwhile  Washington  sent  Heath  and 
Lincoln  to  make  a  demonstration  against  New 
York  to  worry  the  enemy.  The  whole  situation 
of  affairs  had  indeed  been  changed  by  Washing- 
ton's two  brilliant  strokes.  The  end  of  the  cam- 
paign was  as  brilliant  as  the  remainder  was  unsatis- 
factory. Washington  himself  now  went  into 
winter  quarters  at  Morristown. 

We  must  now  go  back  to  the  time  Washington 
first  entered  the  Jerseys  and  take  a  short  glance 
at  matters  in  the  northern  part  of  New  York  State. 
Schuyler  and  Gates  were  then  defending  Lake 
Champlain  and  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga 
from  the  British  under  Sir  Guy  Carleton.  Gates 
fitted  out  a  flotilla  of  improvised  fighting  boats, 
consisting  of  a  sloop,  three  schooners  and  five 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       143 

gondolas  for  service  on  the  lake,  and  gave  the 
command  of  it  to  Arnold.  On  the  British  side 
boats  were  brought  from  England  in  pieces  and 
put  together  at  St.  John's.  Carleton  and  his  offi- 
cers were  afraid  that  the  war  would  end  before 
they  had  a  chance  to  distinguish  themselves.  He 
expected  to  capture  Crown  Point  and  Ticonder- 
oga,  later  Albany  (which  would  put  all  northern 
New  York  at  his  mercy)  and,  eventually  co- 
operate with  Howe. 

Three  months  passed  before  his  armament  was 
complete,  however,  and  with  each  week  that 
slipped  by  his  hopes  for  a  successful  campaign  in 
1776  languished.  In  October  he  was  ready  for 
action  on  Lake  Champlain,  however,  with  a  fleet 
of  between  twenty  and  thirty  ships.  Arnold's 
fleet,  if  such  it  can  be  called,  was  increased  by  a 
sloop,  three  galleys  and  three  gondolas.  He  had 
a  very  inferior  array  to  the  British  fleet,  however ; 
and,  therefore,  chose  a  favourable  spot  on  one  side 
of  Valcour  Island  at  the  head  of  the  lake.  The 
British  fleet  sailed  against  him  on  the  nth  of  Oc- 
tober, but  encountering  head  winds,  were  at  a 
disadvantage,  especially  with  their  larger  boats, 
for  some  time,  and  Arnold  fought  fiercely  through- 
out the  day.  He  was  beset  from  the  shore,  too, 
by  Carleton's  Indian  allies.  He  was  at  length 
obliged  to  withdraw,  and  to  escape  had  to  pass 
through  the  British  fleet.  They  did  not  get  far 
away,  however,  as  they  had  to  stop  to  repair  and 


144      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

stop  leaks  when  but  ten  miles  away.  The  next 
day  adverse  winds  separated  the  fleet,  the  boats 
which  were  most  badly  damaged  being  left  be- 
hind by  the  others.  One  of  these  was  the  boat 
which  carried  Arnold  himself.  In  their  crippled 
condition  these  had  to  be  abandoned  a  few  miles 
from  Crown  Point.  They  made  this  place  by 
land,  escaping  an  Indian  ambush  almost  by  acci- 
dent, and  the  next  day,  setting  fire  to  Crown 
Point,  made  for  Ticonderoga  on  that  portion  of 
the  fleet  which  had  got  safely  away. 

In  the  meantime  Gates  had  been  hard  at  work 
strengthening  the  defences  of  Ticonderoga,  and 
Carleton,  after  holding  Crown  Point  for  a  time, 
eventually  returned  to  St.  John's  and  sent  his 
army  into  winter  cantonments  in  Canada. 

Washington  found  his  encampment  at  Morris- 
town,  where  he  had  at  first  expected  to  remain 
but  a  short  time — an  excellent  place  to  watch  the 
British,  and  an  equally  good  place  to  camp.  More- 
over, his  position  was  naturally  a  strong  one,  and, 
should  he  be  attacked  from  it,  there  were  several 
lines  of  retreat  into  a  country  fertile  and  peopled 
with  friends.  His  troops,  however,  suffered 
greatly  from  the  ravages  of  the  smallpox,  which 
in  those  days  seems  to  have  been  the  great  camp 
disease.  While  Howe  and  his  officers  were  en- 
joying themselves  in  New  York,  where  they  were 
the  lions  of  the  Tory  society,  Washington  was 
busying  himself  with  the  welfare  of  his  men.  He 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       145 

prohibited  gaming  (which  was  one  of  Howe's  main 
passions)  and  forbade  his  troops  from  making 
depredations  even  on  the  Tory  inhabitants  of  the 
Jerseys.  All  this  had  a  great  and  good  effect  on 
the  people  of  the  state.  They  were  highly  in- 
censed against  both  British  and  Hessians,  and  never 
lost  an  opportunity  to  take  revenge  on  the  British 
for  their  many  deeds  of  cruelty. 

For  the  main  part  of  the  winter  Washington 
had  his  hands  full  aiding  Schuyler,  who  feared  a 
winter  attack  on  Ticonderoga,  which  was  now 
held  by  Wayne  with  but  a  few  hundred  men,  try- 
ing to  effect  an  exchange  of  prisoners  with  Howe, 
and  endeavouring  to  recruit  his  army,  which  kept 
constantly  dwindling  from  the  expiration  of  en- 
listments. 

Schuyler  was  in  trouble  in  every  quarter,  largely 
due  to  the  machinations  of  Gates,  who  wished  to 
command  the  northern  army  in  the  next  campaign. 
Schuyler  gave  offence  to  Congress  and  eventually 
claimed  his  seat  in  it  in  order  to  insist  on  a  court 
of  inquiry.  He  apologised  to  Congress  for  a  dis- 
respectful letter,  and  at  length  a  court  of  inquiry 
met  and  cleared  him  of  all  charges.  Schuyler  was 
an  able,  patriotic  man  ;  but  he  was  full  of  puncti- 
lio, insisted  on  implicit  obedience,  order  and  dis- 
cipline ;  and  was  not  well  fitted  to  get  along  with 
the  rough  patriots  who  formed  the  greater  part  of 
the  American  army. 

By  this  time  the  war  of  the  states  for  indepen- 
10 


146      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

dence  had  attracted  many  European  soldiers  to 
this  country.  Some  of  these  were  mere  soldiers  of 
fortune,  who  saw  an  opportunity  to  profit  by  their 
profession  of  arms.  Others  were  actual  heroes 
who  came  to  fight  for  the  cause  of  liberty.  Con- 
gress nearly  made  the  mistake  of  appointing  a 
Frenchman  by  the  name  of  Decoudray  to  the 
command  of  all  the  artillery  on  the  strength  of  an 
agreement  made  with  our  representative  at  the 
French  court.  This  would  have  caused  the  imme- 
diate resignation  of  General  Knox,  then  in  com- 
mand, who  was  one  of  Washington's  most  trusted 
officers.  Congress  did  appoint  one  Colonel  Con- 
way  a  brigadier-general,  and  of  him  I  shall  tell 
you  more  later.  It  was  a  mistake  to  appoint 
him  ;  but  Washington,  who  suffered  most  from 
his  future  doings,  shared  in  the  mistake. 

There  was  no  mistake  made  with  Thaddeus 
Kosciuszko,  however.  He  was  a  Pole  of  ancient 
family  who  had  been  disappointed  in  a  love  affair 
with  a  lady  of  rank.  He  came  to  Washington 
with  a  letter  of  introduction  and  recommendation 
from  Franklin.  He  had  been  educated  for  the 
profession  of  arms  in  his  own  country  and  in 
France. 

"  What  can  you  do  ?  "     Washington  asked  him. 

"Try  me,"  answered  Kosciuszko,  simply. 

The  reply  pleased  Washington,  and  he  imme- 
diately took  the  young  Pole  into  his  military 
family  as  an  aide-de-camp.  He  became  a  distin- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       147 

guished  soldier  not  only  in  our  own  country  but 
his  own. 

Promotions  made  by  Congress  among  our  own 
generals  gave  more  trouble  to  Washington.  Stir- 
ling, Lincoln,  Mifflin,  Stephen  and  St.  Clair  were 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general.  At  this 
Arnold  was  deeply  hurt  and  greatly  incensed. 
He  ranked  everyone  of  them  as  a  brigadier-gen- 
eral, he  had  fought  and  bled  in  the  cause,  and  had 
been  the  hero  of  many  daring  exploits  in  the  war. 
He  wrote  Washington  saying  he  intended  to 
resign  and  asked  for  a  court  of  inquiry.  Wash- 
ington tried  to  explain  to  him  that  Congress  had 
made  the  appointments  on  the  ground  that  each 
state  was  entitled  to  an  equal  number  of  major- 
generals,  the  number  at  the  time  being  two.  Con- 
necticut already  having  two  major-generals,  Arnold 
had  to  be  left  out.  "  I  confess,"  Washington 
wrote  to  Arnold,  "  that  this  is  a  strange  mode  of 
reasoning ;  but  it  may  serve  to  show  you  that  the 
promotion  which  was  due  to  your  seniority  was 
not  overlooked  for  want  of  merit  in  you."  But 
this  did  not  satisfy  Arnold.  He  was  wounded  to 
the  quick,  and  would  have  resigned  at  once  but 
for  the  personal  request  of  Washington  that  he 
remain  in  the  service  if  "  his  own  feelings  would 
permit  him  to." 

Strangely  enough  Arnold  had  an  immediate 
opportunity  to  distinguish  himself  again.  Fate 
dealt  strangely  with  this  man.  Tryon,  the  late 


i48      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Governor  of  New  York,  had  been  commissioned 
by  the  English  a  major-general  of  provincials, 
which  would  correspond  to  a  major-general  of 
volunteers  in  our  own  army  to-day.  With  a 
mixed  force  of  Tories  and  regulars,  he  sailed  down 
the  coast  of  Connecticut,  landed  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Saugatuck  River  and  pushed  on  to  Danbury, 
twenty-three  miles  in  the  interior,  to  destroy  the 
large  deposit  of  military  stores  held  there.  Gen- 
erals Silliman  and  brave  old  General  Wooster  im- 
mediately aroused  the  neighbouring  militia,  and 
notified  Arnold,  who  was  at  New  Haven  on  his 
way  to  Philadelphia  to  settle  his  accounts  with 
Congress. 

Always  ready  in  a  time  of  danger,  Arnold  for- 
got for  a  time  his  injuries  and  rode  in  haste  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Danbury.  It  was  the  26th  of 
March  when  Tryon  reached  the  place  after  march- 
ing all  night.  Wooster  and  Arnold  brought  their 
followers  (whom  they  had  gathered  as  they  went 
along)  to  General  Silliman,  who  had  already  raised 
about  five  hundred  men ;  and  the  three  concocted 
a  plan  to  punish  the  British  on  their  retreat. 
Wooster,  nearly  seventy  years  old,  took  command 
and  sent  Arnold  with  four  hundred  men  to  Ridge- 
field  to  intercept  the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  while 
he  with  a  few  hundred  more  annoyed  them  from 
the  rear.  Perhaps  you  will  think,  Boy,  that  a  rear 
attack  upon  an  army  would  only  hasten  its  retreat. 
In  effect  the  opposite  is  the  result.  The  attacked 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       149 

army's  rear-guard  has  to  halt  and  fight  its  pursuers, 
and  the  main  body  must  either  halt  or  slow  down 
for  fear  of  getting  separated  from  its  rear-guard  by 
too  great  a  distance. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  2/th  Tryon  began 
his  retreat  to  his  ships.  He  was  immediately 
attacked  by  Wooster  with  great  spirit,  and  the 
fighting  was  hot  until  the  British  force  was  within 
a  couple  of  miles  of  Ridgefield,  when  Wooster 
was  killed.  As  usual  when  a  commanding  officer 
of  a  small  force  is  killed  the  troops  under  him 
retreated  in  disorder.  The  delay  of  the  British 
by  the  constant  fighting  had  given  Arnold  an 
opportunity  to  throw  up  fortifications,  however. 
Thus  intrenched  he  with  his  four  hundred  men 
held  the  British  off  until  his  intrenchments  were 
flanked,  when  he  was  compelled  to  retreat  in  turn. 
Arnold  remaining  with  his  own  rear-guard  had  a 
horse  shot  under  him,  and  his  foot  becoming  en- 
tangled in  his  stirrup,  was  nearly  captured.  He 
managed  to  get  away,  though,  after  killing  one  of 
the  enemy  who  attempted  to  make  him  prisoner. 
Tryon's  forces  were  now  tired  out  and  he  intrenched 
himself  in  Ridgefield  for  the  night. 

The  next  day  Tryon  set  forth  again.  But  Colo- 
nel Huntingdon,  of  the  regular  Continentals, 
now  brought  the  troops  which  had  been  driven 
from  Danbury  and  the  remnants  of  Wooster's 
men  to  attack  him  in  rear.  Arnold,  too,  rein- 
forced by  two  companies  of  artillery  with  three 


i5o      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

guns,  again  placed  himself  in  Tryon's  front. 
This  time  the  British  were  in  too  much  difficulty 
to  risk  a  fight  with  Arnold's  little  command ;  and 
when  they  came  in  sight  of  his  position  turned 
aside.  Arnold  now  flung  himself  on  the  enemy's 
flank,  and  the  latter  were  forced  to  entrench 
themselves  on  a  hill  for  the  night.  They  were, 
however,  within  cannon-shot  of  their  ships.  The 
latter  landed  a  large  force  of  sailors  and  marines, 
and  with  their  help  Tryon,  although  again  hard 
pressed,  managed  to  embark.  In  the  fighting 
here  Colonel  Lamb  of  the  artillery  was  wounded 
and  Arnold  had  another  horse  shot  under  him. 
This  ended  the  affair.  Tryon  had  succeeded  in 
destroying  a  large  and  valuable  amount  of  mili- 
tary stores,  including  seventeen  hundred  tents 
which  had  been  prepared  for  the  use  of  Washing- 
ton's army  in  the  coming  campaign.  For  his 
achievement  in  harassing  the  enemy  to  the 
extent  he  did  (which  deterred  them  from  attempt- 
ing to  repeat  the  exploit),  Congress  now  made 
Arnold  a  major-general  and  presented  him  with  a 
finely  caparisoned  horse.  But  even  this  did  not 
soothe  Arnold's  wounded  feelings.  He  was  still 
junior  in  rank  to  the  five  generals  who  had  been 
promoted  over  him. 

In  retaliation  for  this  destructive  expedition, 
Colonel  Meigs,  who  had  accompanied  Arnold  to 
Quebec,  made  an  attack  on  Sag  Harbour  at  the 
eastern  end  of  Long  Island,  where  the  British 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      15  r 

had  large  stores  of  grain,  forage  and  other  sup- 
plies, and  destroyed  the  depot,  all  the  ships  at 
the  wharves  and  all  the  supplies,  besides  captur- 
ing the  company  of  infantry  stationed  there  to 
protect  them. 

Arnold  was  now  offered  the  general  command 
of  the  Hudson,  which  he  declined,  and  the  com- 
mand was  given  to  Putnam.  Schuyler  was  put 
in  full  command  in  upper  New  York,  which  made 
Gates  angry,  though  to  no  purpose,  although  it 
made  his  New  England  friends  in  Congress  all  the 
more  keen  in  his  behalf  and  all  the  more  bitter 
towards  Schuyler. 

Toward  the  end  of  May,  1777,  Washington 
moved  from  his  winter  cantonments  at  Morris- 
town  to  Middlebrook,  where  he  was  within  ten 
miles  of  the  British  forces  at  Brunswick.  He 
now  had.  bet  ween  seven  and  eight  thousand  men 
in  forty-three  regiments.  From  this  we  see  that 
a  regiment  was  a  very  small  affair  indeed,  being 
composed  on  the  average  of  less  than  two  hun- 
dred men.  These  were  divided  into  ten  brigades 
commanded  by  Brigadier-generals  Muhlenberg, 
Weedon,  Woodford,  Scott,  Smallwood,  Deborre, 
Wayne,  Dehaas,  Conway  and  Maxwell.  The 
brigades  were  divided  into  five  divisions  which 
were  commanded  by  Major-generals  Greene, 
Stephen,  Sullivan,  Lincoln  and  Stirling.  At  the 
end  of  May  Lord  Howe's  fleet  put  to  sea  in  a 
manner  that  bewildered  Washington,  who  could 


i52       HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

irot  tell  where  it  intended  to  strike,  and  more 
foreign  hirelings  arrived  in  New  York  to  reinforce 
the  British.  Sir  William  Howe  with  the  army 
moved  out  of  Brunswick  and  fortified  himself 
along  the  bank  of  the  Raritan  opposite  Wash- 
ington. It  began  to  look  as  though  the  fleet 
under  Lord  Howe  had  Philadelphia,  where 
Arnold  had  been  induced  to  command,  for  its 
objective. 

No  doubt  Sir  William  Howe  wished  to  march 
on  Philadelphia  also,  but  he  dared  not  make  the 
movement  and  the  dangerous  crossing  of  the 
Delaware  with  Washington's  energetic  army 
hanging  on  his  flank  and  rear.  Washington  knew 
he  would  not  dare  to  move  without  first  striking 
a  blow  at  him,  so  both  armies  waited  in  their 
strong  positions  tempting  the  other  to  attack. 
Washington's  patience  was  greater  than .  Howe's, 
however,  and  the  latter  soon  abandoned  his 
position. 


CHAPTER  XII 

HOWE  LEAVES  THE  JERSEYS — MURDER  OF  MISS 
MCCREA— SIEGE  OF  FORT  STANWIX — BATTLE 
OF  ORISKANY — BATTLE  OF  BENNINGTON 

AFTER  marching,  countermarching  and  skir- 
mishing for  a  time,  with  the  hope  of  drawing 
Washington  from  his  strong  position,  Howe 
finally  gave  up  the  attempt,  and  crossed  to  Staten 
Island.  The  Jerseys  were  now  abandoned  by 
the  British,  who  the  year  before  supposed  they 
had  completely  conquered  them.  There  was  now 
a  great  stir  in  New  York,  and  among  the  trans- 
ports anchored  there.  What  did  this  mean  ? 
Where  was  Sir  William  Howe  going?  Where 
had  Lord  Howe  gone  ?  Such  were  the  questions 
that  perplexed  Washington.  On  top  of  them 
came  still  another  perplexity.  General  Stirling, 
who  was  now  in  command  at  Ticonderoga,  re- 
ported that  a  force  of  British  with  a  powerful 
contingent  of  Indian  allies  had  appeared  on  Lake 
Champlain.  What  did  this  mean  ?  Did  Burgoyne 
intend  to  break  through  to  New  York  with  aid 
from  Howe  ?  Such  was  the  case,  though  Wash- 
ington did  not  know  it.  Such  was  the  plan 

'S3 


i54      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

formed  in  England.  By  a  singularly  careless  mis- 
take, however,  the  English  government  had  given 
Burgoyne  orders  to  move  south  to  meet  Howe, 
but  had  neglected  to  give  Howe  orders  to  move 
north  to  co-operate  with  Burgoyne.  Conse- 
quently the  latter  thought  Burgoyne  powerful 
enough  to  get  through  without  aid,  and  did  not 
co-operate  with  him.  So  Washington  waited  at 
Morristown  to  learn  in  which  direction  it  was 
more  important  to  march  with  his  troops,  north 
against  Burgoyne  or  south  to  defend  Philadelphia. 
In  the  meantime  he  let  the  Jersey  militia  go  out 
to  attend  to  their  crops.  About  this  time  Alex- 
ander Hamilton  became  an  aide  on  Washington's 
staff. 

We  will  now  leave  Washington  for  a  while  and 
follow  the  fortunes  of  the  Americans  in  northern 
New  York.  Sir  Guy  Carleton  remained  in  Can- 
ada, where  his  services  were  necessary  as  Gov- 
ernor. But  General  Burgoyne,  with  a  splendidly 
equipped  force  of  about  eight  thousand  men,  was 
advancing  in  triumph  by  the  route  Carleton  had 
tried  the  year  before.  In  Burgoyne's  army  were 
Generals  Phillips,  Fraser,  Powell  and  Hamilton 
and  the  Brunswicker,  Major-General  Riedesel. 
Phillips,  a  man  of  great  reputation,  had  command 
of  the  artillery,  which  was  said  to  be  the  finest 
train  of  that  arm  ever  given  an  army  of  the  size 
of  Burgoyne's.  They  were  brass  pieces  such  as 
we  used  ourselves  even  as  late  as  the  Civil  War. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      155 

As  Burgoyne  advanced  by  the  old  route,  Colo- 
nel St.  Leger  advanced  further  west  to  make  a 
demonstration  on  the  Mohawk  River.  Both  com- 
mands had  a  number  of  Indian  allies,  some  from 
Canada,  who  had  become  debased  rather  than 
civilised  by  their  contact  with  the  whites ;  others 
the  wild  tribes  of  western  New  York. 

On  the  i6th  of  June  Burgoyne  began  his  march 
from  St.  John's  with  a  baggage  train  altogether 
too  heavy  for  the  work  he  had  before  him,  making 
the  same  mistake  in  this  respect  that  Braddock 
did  in  an  earlier  war.  Schuyler  and  St.  Clair  hur- 
riedly added  to  the  fortifications  of  Ticonderoga, 
and  awaited  Burgoyne's  appearance.  To  oppose 
Burgoyne,  General  St.  Clair,  who  was  in  command 
of  the  fort,  had  but  three  thousand  five  hundred 
men,  though  Washington  had  been  informed  and 
believed  he  had  more.  Many  of  these  men  were 
militia  and  all  were  poorly  equipped.  It  was  sup- 
posed by  Washington  that  St.  Clair  had  a  force 
sufficient  to  hold  the  strong  fortifications  at  Ticon- 
deroga and  its  complementary,  Fort  Indepen- 
dence. Never  was  man  more  astonished  than  he, 
therefore,  to  learn,  on  the  7th  of  July,  that  St. 
Clair  had  abandoned  the  fort. 

For  two  weeks  little  was  heard  of  St.  Clair. 
Matters  were  soon  explained.  St.  Clair  had  failed 
to  seize  a  hill,  which  commanded  his  fortifications, 
and  had  been  forced  to  evacuate  his  strong  posi- 
tion. Not  only  that,  but  he  had  been  pursued  so 


156      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

vigilantly  that  his  army  had  suffered  very  greatly. 
His  loss  in  artillery,  ammunition,  provisions  and 
stores  was  immense.  The  English  were  trium- 
phant, but  they  had  rested  at  Skenesborough, 
where  they  remained  for  several  weeks.  In  the 
meantime,  the  Tories  began  flocking  to  his  army, 
as  they  did  also  to  the  column  under  St.  Leger. 

Schuyler  did  everything  possible  to  block  Bur- 
goyne's  way  and  retard  him.  Every  bridge  was 
broken  down  or  burnt,  and  great  trees  were  felled 
across  the  roads.  It  was  not  until  the  end  of  July, 
therefore,  that  Burgoyne  reached  Fort  Anne. 

There  were  other  troubles  for  Burgoyne,  too. 
He  was  a  man  of  high  honour  and  disliked  to  make 
use  of  the  Indians  against  his  own  race.  He  held 
them  in  as  much  check  as  possible,  which  dissat- 
isfied them.  They  were  intent  on  plunder  and 
cold-blooded  murder  whenever  chance  favoured 
them.  He  appealed  to  the  "  wild  honour"  of  the 
red  men,  but  an  unfortunate  affair  soon  warned 
him  of  the  nature  of  that  "  wild  honour." 

In  one  of  his  divisions  there  was  a  young  lieu- 
tenant by  the  name  of  David  Jones.  He  was  en- 
gaged to  a  beautiful  girl  by  the  name  of  Jane 
McCrea.  Miss  McCrea's  family  were  Whigs, 
while  Jones  was  a  Tory,  but  the  attachment  be- 
tween the  lovers  did  not  cease  on  that  account. 
As  Burgoyne  advanced,  Jones,  now  a  volunteer 
officer  in  the  British  army,  reached  his  old  neigh- 
bourhood. Miss  McCrea,  being  on  a  visit  at  Fort 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       157 

Edward,  to  a  Royalist  family,  determined  to  re- 
main and  see  him  in  spite  of  the  remonstrance 
of  her  brother,  who  wished  her  to  accompany  him 
to  Albany.  Eventually  her  brother  sent  her  a 
peremptory  order  to  join  him.  She  reluctantly 
arranged  to  obey  him.  While  making  these  ar- 
rangements a  marauding  party  of  Indians,  sent  out 
by  Burgoyne,  captured  her  and  the  friend  she  was 
visiting.  She  made  the  mistake  of  offering  them 
a  large  reward  to  take  her  safely  into  the  British 
lines.  The  Indians  quarrelled  about  the  reward, 
and  one  of  them,  to  settle  the  matter  beyond 
further  dispute,  killed  the  poor  cause  of  the 
quarrel.  This  horrified  Burgoyne,  who  insisted 
that  the  murderer  be  given  up  by  the  Indians  for 
punishment.  He  proved  to  be  a  chief,  and  the 
Indians  declined.  Jones  resigned  his  commission 
and  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life  a  broken-hearted 
recluse.  Burgoyne  took  further  steps  to  discipline 
his  savages,  which  made  them  still  angrier,  and 
they  soon  deserted  him  in  large  numbers.  But 
there  was  even  a  more  serious  consequence  to 
Burgoyne.  The  murder  of  Miss  McCrea  brought 
down  upon  Burgoyne  the  hatred  of  everyone  in 
the  land,  and  the  militia  flocked  to  the  American 
standard  to  oppose  Burgoyne  and  revenge  her 
death.  This  standard,  Boy,  was  now  the  stars  and 
stripes  you  worship  to-day.  Then  it  was  but  a 
few  weeks  old.  Congress  had  adopted  it  on  the 
I4th  of  the  preceding  June. 


i58       HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Burgoyne  now  advanced  to  Fort  Edward,  which 
Schuyler  had  been  compelled  to  evacuate,  while 
the  latter  retreated  to  Saratoga  or  Stillwater, 
where  he  was  joined  by  Lincoln  with  reinforce- 
ments. 

In  the  meantime  Colonel  St.  Leger  had  come 
down  from  Canada  by  Oswego,  and  was  now  in- 
vesting Fort  Stanwix,  with  his  combined  com- 
mand of  Indians  and  British.  This  fort  was  situ- 
ated at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Mohawk  River.  It  had  been  used  in  the 
French  and  Indian  wars  and  was  originally  a  place 
of  great  strength.  Now  it  had  fallen  into  poor 
repair.  It  was  defended  by  Colonel  Gansevoort, 
a  New-Yorker  of  Dutch  descent,  with  about  eight 
hundred  Continentals.  Gansevoort  sent  to  Schuy- 
ler  for  help,  and  Schuyler  despatched  General 
Herkimer  to  the  assistance  of  the  garrison. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  ORISKANY. 

Herkimer  sent  scouts  into  the  fort  on  August 
5th,  with  instructions  for  Gansevoort  to  fire  three 
signal  guns  when  he  was  ready  to  co-operate. 
The  scouts  were  delayed,  having  to  make  their 
way  through  a  marsh,  and  it  was  late  in  the  day 
when  he  received  the  information  that  Herkimer 
was  near.  In  the  meantime,  Herkimer  had  been 
waiting  for  the  signal  guns.  Unfortunately  he 
had  a  brother  and  other  relatives  in  the  ranks  of 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       159 

the  enemy,  and  was  himself  suspected  of  being  a 
Royalist — which  he  by  no  means  was.  Two  of  his 
colonels  charged  him  with  being  such,  however, 
and  with  purposely  delaying  to  give  the  enemy  an 
opportunity  to  prepare  for  him.  They  also  called 
him  a  coward.  Stung  by  these  reproaches,  Her- 
kimer  at  last  gave  the  order  to  move  forward  be- 
fore hearing  the  guns  from  the  fort.  There  was 
a  good  deal  of  bad  feeling  in  the  command,  and 
Herkimer  neglected  to  send  out  a  scouting  party 
ahead.  They  were  almost  across  a  causeway  of 
logs  across  a  marshy  ravine,  with  their  main  divi- 
sion, when  they  were  attacked  from  ambush  by 
the  British  and  their  allies.  The  whites  attacked 
them  in  front  while  the  Indians  fought  from  either 
side.  Herkimer's  rear-guard  abandoned  him  the 
moment  the  fight  began.  But  the  Indians  failed 
to  obey  orders  and  charged  after  one  simultaneous 
volley.  This  gave  the  Americans  a  chance.  They 
were  accustomed  to  Indian  warfare,  and  they 
dropped  behind  logs  and  trees  and  fought  the 
savages  off.  Early  in  the  action,  Herkimer  was 
wounded  in  the  leg ;  but  he  had  himself  placed 
against  a  tree,  and,  smoking  his  pipe,  continued 
to  direct  the  fight. 

The  British  now  charged  with  the  bayonet,  but 
the  Americans  proved  themselves  equal  to  this 
emergency  also.  They  formed  in  circles  back  to 
back  and  drove  the  British  regulars  off.  Against 
the  Indians  they  fought  in  pairs  behind  trees. 


160      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

One  would  fire  and  the  other  remain  with  his  gun 
loaded  while  his  comrade  reloaded,  then  he  would 
fire  in  turn.  Otherwise  the  Indians  would  have 
rushed  up  after  the  discharge  of  a  gun  and  have 
killed  the  soldier  who  fired  it.  At  length,  the 
Indians  having  suffered  severely  from  the  Amer- 
ican fire,  they  suddenly  flew  from  the  field  loudly 
crying  "  Oonah  !  "  their  retreating  cry.  The  gar- 
rison of  the  fort  now  took  a  hand  in  the  fight, 
and  the  alarmed  British  withdrew  to  their  camp 
to  defend  it.  Unfortunately  the  Americans  under 
Herkimer  were  too  much  demoralised  to  push  on 
to  the  fort.  They  made  litters  out  of  branches 
of  trees,  therefore,  and  putting  the  wounded 
upon  them  returned  to  Oriskany.  Both  parties 
claimed  the  victory.  Herkimer,  himself,  died 
from  his  wounds  nine  days  after  the  battle,  calmly 
smoking  his  pipe  and  reading  his  Bible  to  the 
last.  In  the  meantime  the  sortie  of  the  garrison 
had  been  very  successful.  They  drove  the  enemy 
from  their  camps  and  sacked  them,  seized  what 
they  wanted,  destroyed  the  remainder  and  re- 
treated successfully  back  into  the  fort. 

St.  Leger  again  demanded  the  surrender  of 
the  garrison,  and  tried  to  influence  Ganse- 
voort  by  fear  and  persuasion,  without  success. 
Schuyler  now  sent  Arnold  with  another  force  to 
the  relief  of  Fort  Stanwix.  Arnold  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  Gansevoort  urging  to  hold  out  and  assur- 
ing the  latter  that  he  "  knew  the  strength  of  the 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       161 

enemy  and  how  to  deal  with  them."  He  did. 
He  sent  an  emissary  to  the  British  and  Indian 
camp  in  the  person  of  a  half-witted  boy  named 
Yan  Yost  Cuyler,  who  was  well  known  as  a  Tory 
sympathiser.  He  made  the  latter  promise  to 
give  the  information  to  the  enemy  that  Arnold's 
force  was  vastly  superior  to  what  it  really  was, 
threatening  the  young  man  if  he  failed  to  accom- 
plish the  purpose  of  his  errand,  and  holding  his 
brother  as  security  for  the  performance  of  it. 
Cuyler  did  his  disagreeable  errand  well.  When 
asked  by  the  Indians  how  many  men  Arnold  had, 
he  replied,  silently  but  eloquently,  by  pointing  to 
the  leaves  of  a  tree.  That  settled  matters  so  far 
as  the  Indians  were  concerned.  They  demanded 
an  immediate  retreat  and  St.  Leger  was  forced  to 
comply.  The  Indians  had  more  than  one  bird 
to  kill  with  this  demand  of  theirs,  however.  They 
had  plenty  of  opportunity  to  plunder  St.  Leger's 
men  as  they  retreated,  and  they  did  so  constantly. 
So  the  expedition  against  Fort  Stanwix  was  a 
very  unfortunate  one  for  the  British  after  all. 

Burgoyne  now  found  himself  in  difficulty  for 
want  of  means  of  conveyance  for  his  heavy  bag- 
gage. After  leaving  his  boats  he  required  other 
means  of  transportation.  Horses  and  waggons 
were  necessary,  and  to  obtain  these  he  sent  an 
expedition  consisting  mostly  of  Hessians  into  the 
horse-raising  district  of  Vermont,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Bennington.  Burgoyne  had  been 
ii 


162      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

assured  that  he  would  find  the  country  full  of 
Tories  and  well  disposed  towards  him.  In  this 
he  was  greatly  mistaken.  General  Lincoln  had 
been  sent  by  Washington  to  arouse  the  Green 
Mountain  boys  to  go  to  the  aid  of  Schuyler. 

Schuyler  himself,  still  in  trouble  with  Con- 
gress, determined  to  remain  at  his  post  in  this 
time  of  danger,  even  if  relieved  (though  as  yet 
his  successor  had  not  been  appointed)  and  do 
all  in  his  power  for  the  defence  of  the  country. 
He  now  sent  to  Stark  and  made  a  personal  appeal 
to  him  to  come  with  his  militia  to  the  defence  of 
the  common  country.  That  obstinate  old  hero, 
however,  declined  to  do  so,  just  as  he  had  previ- 
ously declined  Lincoln's  similar  request.  He 
had  resigned  his  commission  in  the  regular  army 
because  he  had  not  been  promoted.  Stark  would, 
however,  command  the  militia  if  the  enemy  in- 
vaded Vermont.  That  gave  him  the  command  of 
the  American  forces  at  the  battle  of  Bennington. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  BENNINGTON. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Baum  marched  against  Ben- 
nington with  about  five  hundred  men  and  two  pieces 
of  cannon.  He  had  a  mixed  force  of  British,  Cana- 
dians, Hessians  and  Indians.  He  set  out  on  the 
1 3th  of  August,  but  moved  too  slowly  to  take 
Bennington  by  surprise.  Before  he  reached  that 
point,  Stark  had  gathered  together  about  nine 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      163 

hundred  militia  to  oppose  him.  Nor  did  Stark 
wait  at  Bennington,  but  immediately  pushed  forth 
an  advance  force  under  Captain  Gregg  and  fol- 
lowed on  himself.  Gregg  had  a  sharp  encounter 
with  Baum's  advance,  and  Stark  met  him  retreat- 
ing, whereupon  Stark  drew  up  his  force  in  line  of 
battle.  All  day  on  the  I5th  of  August  there 
was  a  heavy  fall  of  rain,  which  prevented  Stark 
from  attacking  Baum.  There  was  continual 
skirmishing,  however.  What  was  of  more  im- 
portance Stark  was  reinforced  by  other  detach- 
ments of  militia.  Among  the  latter  was  a  de- 
tachment from  Berkshire.  They  had  often  turned 
out,  at  various  alarms,  before ;  but  they  had 
never  had  a  chance  to  fight  the  enemy.  With 
them  was  a  fighting  parson  by  the  name  of  Allen, 
who  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  relative  of  Ethan 
Allen.  He  visited  Stark  that  night  and  warned 
him  that  if  he  did  not  give  the  Berkshire  men  a 
chance  to  fight  now  they  would  never  turn  out 
again. 

"  What,"  said  Stark,  greatly  amused,  "  you 
would  not  have  me  turn  out  and  fight  now  while 
it  is  dark  and  raining,  would  you  ?  " 

"  Not  just  now,"  answered  the  fighting  parson, 
doubtfully. 

"Well,"  said  Stark,  "if  the  Lord  should  once 
more  give  us  sunshine  and  I  don't  give  you 
enough  fighting,  I'll  never  ask  you  to  turn  out 
again." 


164      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

The  next  day  Stark  made  ready  to  attack 
Baum,  though  he  had  no  artillery  and  the  latter 
had  taken  the  opportunity  of  the  delay  to  erect 
intrenchments.  He  sent  three  hundred  of  his 
men  under  Colonel  Herrick  around  Baum's  right 
flank  and  two  hundred  under  Colonel  Nichols 
around  the  left.  When  the  Tories  with  Baum 
saw  these  men  approaching,  apparently  from  the 
rear,  they  persuaded  the  latter  that  they  were 
Tories  coming  to  his  aid.  The  Indians  were  the 
first  to  discover  the  mistake  (a  British  expedition 
at  this  time  would  not  have  been  correct  without 
its  accompaniment  of  savages).  "  The  woods 
are  full  of  Yankees,"  they  cried  and  promptly 
retreated,  yelling  wildly.  The  two  detachments 
came  into  action.  The  moment  Stark  heard  the 
firing,  he  began  the  charge  in  front. 

"  There  are  the  redcoats,  my  boys,"  he  shouted, 
pointing  to  Baum's  intrenchments.  "  Before  night 
they  are  ours,  or  Molly  Stark's  a  widow." 

Baum  fought  desperately  though  almost  sur- 
rounded. For  two  hours  the  battle  raged.  The 
American  militia  had  never  seen  cannon  before, 
but  they  charged  right  up  to  their  muzzles,  kill- 
ing the  gunners  as  they  attempted  a  last  volley. 
The  Tories  and  Canadians  ran,  but  Baum  fought 
till  his  last  cartridge  was  gone,  and  after  fighting 
his  dragoons  ineffectually  with  the  sword  at  last 
surrendered.  Stark  had  promised  his  men  the 
booty  of  the  camp,  and  they  promptly  separated 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      165 

to  plunder.  While  they  were  dispersed  Breyman, 
who  had  been  sent  after  Baum  by  Burgoyne  with 
a  reinforcement,  arrived  on  the  scene.  The 
battle  so  splendidly  won  would  now  have  been 
lost.  At  this  critical  juncture,  however,  Colonel 
Seth  Warner  brought  fresh  troops  on  the  field 
from  Bennington,  and  the  remainder  of  the  army 
rallied  around  them.  Breyman,  like  Baum,  was 
soundly  whipped  in  his  turn,  and  compelled  to 
retreat  from  hill  to  hill  until  darkness  fell  and 
brought  the  combat  to  a  close.  Another  hour  of 
daylight  would  have  enabled  Stark  to  capture  the 
whole  force.  As  it  was,  he  captured  four  brass 
field-pieces,  a  thousand  guns  and  about  six  hun- 
dred prisoners.  His  splendid  victory  probably 
saved  him  from  being  court-martialled  for  his 
refusal  to  obey  Schuyler  and  aid  in  the  defence 
against  Burgoyne. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  TWO  BATTLES  OF  BEMIS*  HEIGHTS — SUR- 
RENDER OF  BURGOYNE — FIRST  BATTLE  OF 
BEMIS  HEIGHTS 

BURGOYNE  was  now  in  a  perilous  position. 
He  found  himself  daily  threatened  with  a 
greater  and  ever-gathering  force  of  Americans. 
The  failure  of  St.  Leger  and  the  loss  at  Benning- 
ton  gave  him  an  idea  of  what  was  before  him. 
Nor  did  there  seem  to  be  any  indication  of  an 
attempt  to  aid  him  from  New  York.  He  thought 
of  retreat,  but  hoped  to  push  his  way  through 
to  Albany  and  remain  there  until  help  could 
reach  him. 

Gates,  in  the  meantime,  had  been  put  in  com- 
mand of  the  American  army,  superseding  Schuy- 
ler  just  as  the  latter  had  made  all  arrangements 
successfully  to  oppose  the  British  commander 
with  an  army  now  consisting  of  about  ten  thou- 
sand men,  among  them  Morgan  and  his  riflemen. 
Having  ousted  Schuyler,  Gates  now  turned  his 
jealousy  towards  Arnold,  and  they  soon  quarrelled. 
Burgoyne  chose  moving  forward  and  fighting  as 

the  lesser  of  the  two  evils  of  doing  that  or  retreat- 
166 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      167 

ing.  Arnold  and  Kosciuszko  therefore  picked  out 
a  battle-field  for  Gates  on  Bemis  Heights.  On 
the  1 3th  and  I4th  of  September  Burgoyne  neared 
the  position.  He  was  obliged  to  move  slowly,  as 
he  had  everywhere  to  repair  roads  and  bridges. 
Arnold,  at  the  head  of  about  fifteen  hundred 
skirmishers,  kept  constantly  attacking  and  de- 
laying the  working  parties  of  the  British.  On  the 
1 8th  Burgoyne  encamped  on  a  range  of  hills 
about  two  miles  from  Gates'  position.  On  the 
morning  of  the  igth  he  advanced  to  attack. 

Burgoyne's  plan  was  to  turn  the  American  left 
with  the  greater  part  of  his  force  led  by  himself 
in  person.  The  Canadians  and  Indians  were  to 
attack  the  centre,  while  the  left  wing  of  his  army, 
under  Generals  Phillips  and  Riedesel,  were  to 
attack  the  right. 

Arnold  soon  discovered  the  movement  of  the 
British  upon  the  American  left  and  sent  frequent 
reports  of  the  fact  to  Gates,  who  remained  quietly 
and  complacently  in  his  tent.  At  length  Gates 
gave  him  permission  to  oppose  the  movement. 
Arnold  sent  Morgan  and  Dearborn  in  that  direc- 
tion. 

For  a  time  these  troops  drove  the  advance 
of  the  enemy,  but  becoming  scattered  in  the 
thickly-wooded  country  were  in  turn  driven  back 
when  the  right  of  the  enemy  was  reinforced. 
Arnold  now  took  a  hand  himself  with  other 
American  detachments.  He  could  not  force 


168          HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Fraser's  position,  however,  and  sent  to  Gates  for 
reinforcements.  These  the  latter  declined  to 
give.  Arnold  now  made  a  detour  and  fell  upon 
Fraser's  extreme  right  in  an  attempt  to  flank 
him.  He  was  soon  engaged  with  the  entire 
British  right  wing.  This  he  nearly  broke.  But 
Burgoyne  weakened  his  left  and  sent  part  of  the 
troops  of  both  Phillips  and  Reidesel  to  its  assist- 
ance. Gates  now  sent  reinforcements  to  Arnold, 
and  the  latter  fought  under  cover  of  the  woods 
and  intrenchments  until  nightfall.  When  either 
side  advanced  it  was  driven  back  with  loss,  and 
the  result  was  about  equal.  The  British  officers 
acknowledged  that  it  was  the  hardest  fought 
battle  they  had  ever  seen.  The  British  remained 
in  their  position  on  the  field.  But  from  assailants 
they  had  become  assailed,  and  though  they  had 
repulsed  the  American  assault  the  victory  was  in 
doubt.  Arnold  was  very  indignant  at  Gates  for 
not  sending  him  reinforcements  promptly  and  in 
sufficient  numbers.  He  claimed  that  if  they  had 
been  sent  he  would  have  been  able  to  sever  the 
British  line.  He  was  still  further  angered  when 
Gates  declined  to  let  him  renew  the  fight  on  the 
following  morning.  Gates  subsequently  excused 
hinself  from  not  sending  reinforcements,  on  the 
ground  that  to  have  done  so  would  have  been  to 
expose  his  own  right,  and  from  not  following  up 
the  victory  that  Arnold  claimed,  on  account  of 
a  lack  of  powder  and  ball,  known  only  to  himself. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       169 

Burgoyne  now  intrenched  himself  and  erected 
batteries.  Gates  did  likewise,  on  his  left,  his  right 
being  unassailable.  The  effect  of  the  fighting  of 
Morgan's  riflemen  was  such  that  the  Indians  now 
left  Burgoyne  almost  totally.  The  Canadians  and 
provincials  also  began 'to  leave  him  in  large  num- 
bers. He  was  discouraged  also  by  the  news  that 
General  Lincoln  had  fallen  upon  Ticonderoga,  had 
captured  it  and  taken  three  hundred  prisoners, 
had  liberated  one  hundred  American  prisoners 
and  was  laying  siege  to  Mount  Independence. 

Gates'  jealousy  of  Arnold  was  now  heightened 
by  finding  that  the  whole  credit  of  the  first  Battle 
of  Bemis  Heights  was  given  by  one  accord  to 
Arnold,  and  in  his  despatches  he  did  not  even 
mention  Arnold's  name.  Arnold  called  on  Gates 
to  remonstrate.  Gates,  in  great  anger,  told  Arnold 
that  he  had  given  him  no  command ;  as  he  under- 
stood Arnold  had  resigned  his  commission.  He 
also  said  that  as  General  Lincoln  was  shortly  ex- 
pected to  be  with  the  army  he  would  have  no 
further  use  for  Arnold  and  would  give  him  a  pass 
to  go  to  Philadelphia  whenever  he  wished  to, 
leaving  a  force  to  besiege  Mount  Independence. 

In  a  few  days  Lincoln  did  arrive ;  but  Arnold 
still  insisted  on  his  right  to  command  the  left  and 
told  Lincoln  that  he  belonged  on  the  right  when 
the  latter  gave  some  orders  to  the  men  of  the  left. 
Lincoln  and  other  officers  thought  for  a  time  of 
trying  to  effect  a  reconciliation  between  Gates  and 


1 70      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Arnold  ;  but  the  idea  was  abandoned  for  fear  of 
giving  offence  to  Gates. 

In  the  meantime  the  Americans  were  continu- 
ally harassing  Burgoyne.  From  the  2Oth  of  Sep- 
tember until  the  /th  of  October,  the  armies  were 
so  near  to  each  other  that  not  a  night  passed 
without  an  attack  on  the  British  outposts.  Bur- 
goyne still  kept  up  hope,  however,  that  Clinton 
would  come  to  his  rescue  from  New  York.  And, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  Clinton  had  advanced  as  far 
north  as  the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson.  In  the 
meantime  Arnold  and  the  army  were  impatient 
for  action.  Arnold  even  wrote  Gates  upon  the 
subject.  But  the  latter  was  shrewd,  and  his 
shrewdness  won  him  about  all  the  credit  he  really 
deserves  in  this  campaign  against  Burgoyne.  He 
saw  how  desperate  the  situation  of  Burgoyne  was 
and  knew  that  every  day  made  it  worse.  Every  day 
of  delay,  too,  made  Gates'  own  position  better. 

THE 'SECOND  BATTLE  OF  BEMIS  HEIGHTS. 

On  the  7th  of  October  Burgoyne  determined  to 
make  what  to-day  we  would  call  an  armed  recon- 
naissance in  force.  He  moved  out  of  his  camp  on 
the  right  with  fifteen  hundred  of  his  best  troops, 
led  by  himself,  Phillips  and  Eraser,  to  see  if  he 
could  force  a  passage  should  he  wish  to  advance, 
or  dislodge  the  American  left  should  he  have  to 
retreat.  He  hoped  by  the  movement  to  give  his 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       171 

army  an  opportunity  to  forage  also.  Gates  was 
soon  apprised  of  the  movement  of  the  British 
and  at  once  ordered  all  his  officers  to  their  alarm 
posts.  He  sent  his  aide,  Wilkinson,  to  observe 
the  movements  of  the  enemy.  The  latter,  return- 
ing, told  him  that  the  front  of  the  enemy  was 
exposed,  and  that  their  flanks  rested  on  woods 
from  which  they  might  easily  be  attacked.  Gates 
immediately  ordered  Morgan  out  to  begin  such 
an  attack.  Morgan  went  to  the  enemy's  right. 
General  Poor  was  at  the  same  time  to  attack  the 
left.  Burgoyne  had  scarcely  put  his  men  in  battle 
array  when  he  was  astonished  to  find  himself 
assailed  on  both  flanks.  The  fight  at  once  became 
serious.  Poor  advanced  rapidly  up  an  ascent 
against  Ackland's  grenadiers  and  Williams'  artil- 
lery. The  guns  were  taken  and  retaken.  The  Hes- 
sians afterwards  said  they  never  before  saw  artillery 
charged  with  such  utter  recklessness.  Finally 
Poor  captured  the  artillery  and  turned  the  guns 
upon  their  owners.  Ackland  was  wounded,  and 
both  he  and  Williams  were  captured. 

Arnold  was  in  his  tent,  but  the  sight  of  the  battle 
was  too  much  for  him.  He  sprang  on  his  horse 
and  dashed  off  to  the  field,  where  he  led  Learned's 
brigade  in  a  headlong  charge  against  the  Hessians 
in  the  centre.  Gates  sent  an  aide  to  call  him 
back,  but  the  aide  was  too  slow  to  catch  the  ex- 
cited Arnold.  By  repeated  charges  Arnold  broke 
the  enemy's  ranks.  In  the  meantime  Morgan  was 


1 72      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

harassing  the  right  of  the  enemy  with  an  incessant 
fire.  Here  General  Fraser  opposed  the  American 
attack  for  some  time  with  success.  He  was  con- 
spicuous on  an  iron-grey  horse,  and  he  was  wear- 
ing a  field  officer's  brilliant  uniform.  Morgan 
singled  him  out  for  death  because  his  death 
seemed  necessary.  Some  of  Morgan's  best  shots, 
therefore,  were  detailed  to  bring  the  general  down. 
Their  first  shot  cut  the  crupper  of  his  horse ;  the 
second  shot  grazed  his  mane  ;  the  third  hit  the 
general  himself,  mortally  wounding  him.  This 
threw  his  corps  into  confusion,  and  the  confusion 
was  heightened  by  the  appearance  of  reinforce- 
ments for  the  American  left  led  by  General  Ten 
Broeck.  Burgoyne  now  had  to  stir  himself  to 
save  his  camp.  He  abandoned  his  artillery  and 
retreated  undercover  of  the  troops  under  Phillips 
and  Riedesel. 

Having  driven  Burgoyne  into  his  camp,  the 
Americans  stormed  it.  They  were  led  by  Arnold, 
who  was  by  this  time  in  a  fighting  frenzy.  They 
were  unsuccessful  in  the  right  centre.  Arnold, 
however,  joined  Colonel  Brooks  with  the  latter's 
Massachusetts  regiment  in  an  attack  on  the  por- 
tion of  the  camp  occupied  by  the  German  reserve 
and  captured  it,  the  Germans  retreating  and  leav- 
ing Breyman,  their  commander,  mortally  wounded 
on  the  field.  Arnold,  too,  had  a  horse  killed  under 
him  and  was  again  wounded  in  the  leg  which  had 
received  a  wound  in  the  attack  upon  Quebec. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      173 

Night  fell,  but  there  was  no  doubt  on  this  oc- 
casion that  the  Americans  had  won  the  victory. 
They  had  driven  Burgoyne  from  the  field  and  part 
of  his  army  from  its  fortifications.  They  had 
killed  and  wounded  a  great  many  of  the  British 
and  their  allies  and  captured  their  field  artillery. 
Moreover,  the  part  of  the  camp  they  had  taken 
exposed  the  right  and  rear  of  the  British  army. 
The  Americans  lay  on  their  arms  that  night  ex- 
pecting to  renew  the  attack  in  the  morning. 
During  the  night  Burgoyne  abandoned  his  camp 
and  took  position  on  ground  more  favourable  for 
defence  en  the  height  about  a  mile  away.  It  was 
a  sorry  night  for  him.  Supposing  that  the  cam- 
paign would  be  an  easy  one,  a  number  of  ladies, 
wives  of  various  officers,  had  accompanied  the  ex- 
pedition. They  had  even  brought  along  some  of 
their  children.  Among  these  ladies  were  the 
Baroness  De  Riedesel  and  Lady  Ackland.  Gen- 
eral Fraser  died  in  the  house  occupied  by  the  for- 
mer, and  the  husband  of  the  latter  was  wounded 
in  both  legs  and  captured. 

In  the  morning  the  Americans  took  possession 
of  the  camp  which  Burgoyne  had  abandoned,  and 
they  kept  up  a  long  range  fire  throughout  the  day. 
Gates  did  not  think  it  necessary  or  wise  to  make 
an  attack  on  Burgoyne,  whose  soldiers  might  now 
be  expected  to  fight  even  more  desperately.  He 
contented  himself  with  making  dispositions  to  in- 
sure the  eventual  surrender  of  the  British,  which 


i74      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

he  now  knew  must  come  in  time.  During  the 
skirmishing,  however,  General  Lincoln  was  slightly 
wounded. 

Burgoyne  saw  that  an  immediate  retreat  was 
necessary,  but  he  delayed  to  attend  the  funeral  of 
General  Fraser,  whose  dying  request  was  that  he 
should  be  buried  in  a  redoubt  he  had  erected  at 
six  o'clock  in  the  evening.  When  the  funeral 
procession  filed  off  to  the  burial,  the  Americans 
could  see  it  but  indistinctly.  For  a  time,  there- 
fore, they  fired  upon  it  with  artillery.  Later, 
hearing  of  the  real  nature  of  the  affair,  they 
ceased  and  for  the  rest  of  the  ceremony  fired 
minute-guns  in  honour  of  the  dead  Briton.  That 
night  Burgoyne  retreated  again,  abandoning  his 
hospital  tents,  with  their  sick  and  wounded,  and 
many  of  his  stores.  A  terrific  storm  burst  upon 
the  army  while  it  was  retreating,  and  the  feelings 
of  the  defeated  Burgoyne  may  be  imagined  better 
than  they  can  be  described.  During  the  night 
Lady  Ackland  bravely  went  to  the  American 
camp  to  the  assistance  of  her  wounded  husband. 
To  her  surprise,  she  was  treated  with  every  civility 
and  kindness  and  soon  had  reason  to  change  her 
preconceived  opinions  of  the  American  army  and 
its  officers. 

Burgoyne  retreated  to  Saratoga,  which  he 
reached  the  next  evening.  But  a  detachment  of 
the  American  army  was  already  there  and  had 
thrown  up  intrenchments  to  intercept  him.  On 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       175 

the  loth  Burgoyne  crossed  the  Hudson  and  took 
position  in  intrenchments  and  redoubts  which  had 
been  constructed  some  time  before.  To  delay 
the  American  advance  and  screen  his  troops,  he 
ordered  a  large  number  of  houses  to  be  burned, 
among  them  the  country  house,  granary  and 
stables  belonging  to  General  Schuyler. 

Burgoyne  now  decided  to  abandon  all  his  artil- 
lery and  heavy  impedimenta,  let  his  troops  carry 
their  provisions  upon  their  backs  and  make  a 
desperate  dash  for  safety.  But  he  had  no  sooner 
decided  upon  the  plan  than  he  made  the  discovery 
that  Gates  was  now  in  his  rear  in  great  force.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  American  army  was  being  in- 
creased every  day  by  constant  arrivals  of  militia. 
He  gave  up  the  attempt,  therefore,  and  fortified 
himself  in  the  hope  that  Sir  Henry  Clinton  would 
yet  come  to  his  aid  from  New  York.  His  camp 
was  constantly  under  fire  and  his  men  continually 
under  arms,  however,  and  his  provisions  were 
running  short.  The  Canadians  and  Royalist 
Americans  promptly  deserted  him  now,  and  so  did 
the  last  of  his  Indian  allies.  On  the  i/th  of 
October,  therefore,  he  surrendered.  His  army 
was  reduced  to  about  six  thousand  men.  Gates 
had  at  this  time  about  double  the  number.  By 
the  conditions  of  the  surrender  the  British  troops 
were  to  be  sent  to  England  on  condition  that 
they  would  not  again  serve  in  the  war.  The 
officers  were  paroled,  and  all  private  property  was 


176      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

secured  to  both  officers  and  men.  By  the  capitu- 
lation the  American  army  gained  possession  of 
the  entire  train  of  artillery  that  had  been  such  a 
pride  to  the  British  army,  seven  thousand  stands  of 
arms,  tents,  clothing  and  military  stores  of  all 
kinds.  The  victors  received  the  vanquished  with 
great  good  feeling,  and  honours  were  showered 
upon  the  officers.  It  is  something  to  be  proud 
of,  Boy.  that  American  soldiers,  when  victors, 
have  never  taunted  or  insulted  their  captives.  It 
has  been  true  of  them  in  all  their  wars. 

The  Baroness  de  Riedesel  with  her  children  was 
entertained  by  the  polite  and  fastidious  Schuyler, 
whose  wife  also  entertained  her  at  Albany.  Gen- 
eral Burgoyne  was  also  entertained  at  Albany  by 
Mrs.  Schuyler  during  his  entire  stay  there,  twenty 
covers  being  laid  for  himself  and  his  friends. 
Such  was  Schuyler's  return  for  Burgoyne's  des- 
picable act  in  burning  Schuyler's  country  estate. 

Thus  ended  Burgoyne's  famous  invasion  of 
America  from  the  Canadas.  The  fruits  of  the 
victory  which  Schuyler  had  prepared  for  and 
Arnold  had  fought  for  had  been  gathered  by 
Gates,  a  vain,  scheming,  selfish  man,  who  was 
soon  spoiled  completely  by  the  honours  which 
were  showered  upon  him. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

CAPTURE  OF  GENERAL  PRESCOTT — THE  MOVE- 
MENTS OF  GENERAL  HOWE — BATTLE  OF  THE 
BRAND YWINE 

WHILE  Burgoyne  was  making  his  at  first  vic- 
torious sweep  from  the  north  through  upper  New 
York,  Colonel  Barton  with  some  Rhode  Island 
militia  performed  one  of  those  remarkable  feats  in 
a  small  way  that  did  so  much  throughout  the 
entire  Revolution  to  keep  the  Americans  in  heart 
after  their  many  reverses.  He  learned  that  Gen- 
eral Prescott,  who  had  command  of  the  British 
forces  in  that  state,  was  quartered  at  a  country- 
house  about  four  miles  from  Newport,  carelessly 
guarded  and  unsuspicious  of  any  possible  danger. 
With  forty  men  he  pulled  from  Warwick  Neck 
through  the  ships  of  war  and  guard-boats  from 
the  mainland  to  the  island,  landed  quietly,  eluded 
the  guard  stationed  at  the  house,  and  captured 
Prescott  in  bed.  He  also  captured  his  aide-de- 
camp, who  made  an  effort  to  escape  by  leaping 
from  a  window.  Equally  successful  in  eludiflg  the 
guards  on  land  and  guard-boats  in  the  bay  on  his 
way  back,  he  returned  to  the  mainland  with  his  pris- 
oners in  safety.  This  gave  Washington  an  officer 
12  177 


i78      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

of  equal  rank  to  exchange  for  General  Lee. 
Barton  was  voted  a  sword  by  Congress,  and  he 
was  made  a  colonel  in  the  regular  army. 

General  Howe,  having  been  anxiously  watched 
by  Washington  from  his  encampment  at  Morris- 
town  all  the  spring,  sailed  with  his  army  from  the 
port  of  New  York  on  the  23d  of  July.  Howe 
took  with  him  thirty-six  battalions  of  British  and 
Hessian  troops,  a  powerful  train  of  artillery,  a 
regiment  of  light  horse  and  a  corps  of  royalists 
called  the  Queen's  Rangers.  In  all  he  had  about 
seventeen  thousand  men.  He  left  the  command 
in  New  York  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  with  him 
seventeen  battalions  of  infantry  and  another  regi- 
ment of  light  horse.  The  destination  of  Howe 
was  for  a  long  time  a  matter  of  conjecture.  Wash- 
ington believed,  from  intelligence  that  he  obtained, 
that  he  would  make  for  Philadelphia.  At  the 
same  time  he  could  not  understand  why  the  Brit- 
ish general  should  fail  to  co-operate  with  Bur- 
goyne  and  aid  the  latter  in  his  invasion  of  New 
York.  He  therefore  moved  his  army  at  once 
toward  the  Delaware  and  ordered  Sullivan  and 
Stirling  from  Peekskill  to  the  south  to  reinforce 
him.  Sullivan,  however,  was  later  ordered  to  halt 
at  Morristown  to  be  able  to  march  either  south  to 
Washington's  assistance  or  back  to  defend  the 
Highlands  should  the  latter  be  attacked.  On  the 
3 1st  of  July  Washington  learned  definitely  that 
the  British  fleet  of  nearly  two  hundred  and  thirty 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      179 

sail  had  arrived  at  the  Delaware  capes,  and  he 
knew  at  last  for  certain  that  Howe's  object  was 
Philadelphia.  He  at  once  moved  to  Germantown, 
a  few  miles  from  Philadelphia,  and  ordered  Put- 
nam to  hurry  on  the  reinforcements  and  notify 
Schuyler  and  the  commanders  in  the  Eastern 
States  that  they  need  not  fear  Howe,  but  might 
turn  all  their  energies  to  Burgoyne. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Congress  gave  Gates 
the  command  of  the  northern  army  over  Schuyler, 
who  had  been  severely  criticised  by  his  enemies 
for  St.  Glair's  failure  successfully  to  defend  Ticon- 
deroga.  At  the  same  time  the  ever  blundering 
Congress  divided  the  general  commissariat  into 
two  departments,  one  for  purchase  and  the  other 
for  distribution.  This  offended  Colonel  Trumbull, 
who  had  been  the  commissary-general,  and  caused 
his  immediate  resignation.  The  ultimate  effect 
of  the  change  was  to  cause  endless  confusion  in 
this  absolutely  necessary  branch  of  the  service — 
a  confusion  that  several  times  threatened  the  most 
serious  consequences.  While  Washington  was  at 
Germantown  he  was  frequently  in  Philadelphia  on 
public  business  and  there  met  the  young  Marquis 
de  Lafayette,  who  had  come  over  from  France  to 
fight  for  American  liberty.  This  famous  French- 
man, who  was  then  but  twenty-three  years  of  age, 
had  left  his  noble  young  bride  to  share  the  hard 
fortunes  of  the  patriots  who  were  struggling  for 
liberty.  He  offered  to  serve  as  a  volunteer  and  at 


i8o      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

his  own  expense.  Congress  gave  him  the  rank  of 
major-general,  but  did  not  give  any  command. 
Lafayette  and  Washington  at  once  became  friends, 
and  their  lifelong  friendship  was  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  in  the  history  of  great  men.  La- 
fayette, being  without  a  command,  was  made  a 
member  of  Washington's  immediate  military 
family.  At  the  same  time  that  Lafayette  came 
from  France,  a  number  of  other  French,  German 
and  Polish  officers  arrived  to  join  the  American 
cause,  and  among  these  was  the  celebrated  De 
Kalb.  The  presence  of  these  officers  was  of 
course  welcome,  but  they  were  a  cause  of  great 
trouble  ;  as  they  expected  high  office,  and  to  ap- 
point them  to  such  would  offend  the  Americans, 
who  deserved  all  the  promotion  they  could  get, 
and  who  did  not  like  to  see  these  foreigners  pro- 
moted over  them. 

The  militia  of  Pennsylvania,  Delaware  and  the 
northern  parts  of  Virginia  were  now  ordered  to 
reinforce  Washington.  Most  of  them  rendez- 
voused at  Chester  and  were  temporarily  put  under 
the  command  of  Wayne.  Then  Washington 
moved  on  to  Wilmington  at  the  junction  of  the 
Brandywine  River  and  Christiana  Creek.  On  his 
way  he  had  the  army  march  through  Philadelphia 
itself,  down  Broad  Street  and  up  Chestnut,  to  give 
the  inhabitants  an  idea  of  his  strength.  There 
were  many  Tories  in  the  city  and  he  wished  to 
impress  them  with  the  number  of  his  men,  and  to 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       181 

give  heart  to  the  patriots  in  the  city.  Though 
poorly  clad,  the  army  did  make  a  fine  impression. 
No  one  in  Philadelphia  had  ever  seen  anything  so 
imposing  before.  In  order  to  make  them  look  to 
a  certain  extent  uniform,  however,  Washington 
had  to  resort  to  the  expedient  of  having  the  men 
wear  sprigs  of  green  in  their  hats. 

Late  in  August  the  British  army  landed  from 
the  fleet  in  Elk  River,  at  the  northern  extremity 
of  Chesapeake  Bay.  They  landed  near  what 
is  now  Elkton,  about  seventy  miles  from  their 
objective,  Philadelphia.  They  were  ten  miles 
further  from  that  city  than  they  were  when  they 
were  at  Brunswick  in  New  Jersey,  and  the  country 
in  which  they  had  to  operate  was  heavily  wooded 
and  cut  by  deep  streams.  But  it  was  filled  with 
Tories,  and  that  is  why  Howe  chose  it  for  the 
scene  of  the  campaign  rather  than  the  country  he 
had  operated  in  the  previous  year. 

Washington  immediately  made  preparations  to 
check  the  movements  of  the  British,  move  stores 
from  the  vicinity  where  they  were  landing,  and 
especially  to  move  or  destroy  waggons,  horses  and 
cattle,  of  which  the  enemy  stood  in  pressing  need. 
The  divisions  of  Generals  Greene  and  Stephen 
were  thrown  forward  behind  White  Clay  Creek  to 
dispute  the  advance  of  the  British,  and  the  other 
divisions  which  had  been  refreshing  at  Chester 
were  hurried  on.  General  Rodney  with  the  Del- 
aware militia  was  ordered  to  watch  and  harass  the 


182       HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

enemy,  as  were  the  light  troops  of  horse.  General 
Smallwood  and  Colonel  Gist  were  gathering  the 
Maryland  militia  in  the  rear  of  Howe,  and  Wash- 
ington gave  Smallwood  Rodney's  Delaware  militia 
as  well.  To  replace  Rodney  he  formed  a  corps  of 
light  troops  composed  of  one  hundred  picked  men 
from  each"  brigade  and  gave  the  command  to  Gen- 
eral Maxwell.  Sullivan  now  arrived  very  oppor- 
tunely from  the  north  with  three  thousand  men. 

The  foreign  officers  now  began  to  aid  the  Amer- 
ican cause  by  their  actual  services.  General  De- 
borre  commanded  a  brigade  in  Sullivan's  division 
and  Conway  one  in  Stirling's.  Fleury  was  with  the 
engineers,  and  the  famous  Pulaski  took  command 
of  the  cavalry,  which  was  for  the  first  time  be- 
coming an  important  part  of  the  army.  Lafayette 
as  I  have  told  you  was  with  Washington.  Light 
Horse  Harry  Lee  of  Virginia,  then  twenty-two 
years  old,  now  began  the  series  of  exploits  that 
made  him  famous  by  capturing  twenty-four  of  the 
enemy  on  the  3Oth  of  August.  Lee  was  the  son 
of  another  lady  whom  Washington  had  courted 
unsuccessfully  before  he  married  the  widow  who 
was  now  Mrs.  Washington.  And  by  the  way, 
Boy,  see  if  you  can  find  out  the  name  of  Mrs. 
Washington  when  she  was  a  maiden.  When  you 
have  found  it  you  will  know  something  that  not 
one  person  in  a  hundred  knows.  She  is  almost 
always  referred  to  by  the  name  of  her  first  hus- 
band. But  this  mother  of  "  Light  Horse  Harry" 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       183 

must  have  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  heart  of 
Washington,  for  he  used  to  make  rhymes  to  her 
and  called  her  his  "  lowland  beauty."  For  some 
strange  reason  neither  Napoleon  nor  Washington 
was  a  successful  love-maker,  and  neither  of  them 
founded  a  family  in  direct  line.  In  fact  the  great 
lady-killer  of  the  American  army  was  Aaron  Burr, 
who  is  despised  by  almost  all  Americans  in  a  less 
degree  than  Arnold  only. 

Washington  had  made  up  his  mind  now  to  risk 
a  general  engagement  with  the  British  army,  a 
regular  pitched  battle.  His  command  was  as 
large  as,  if  not  larger  than,  that  of  Howe.  To  be 
sure  it  was  composed  of  less  disciplined  troops, 
many  of  them  militia  ;  but  they  had  had  some  ex- 
perience in  the  many  minor  engagements  they 
had  fought  in  the  preceding  two  years,  and  most 
of  their  officers  were  known  to  be  able  and  brave. 
It  would  not  do  to  let  Philadelphia  fall  without  a 
fight;  Congress  expected  it  and  the  public  de- 
manded it.  Even  Europe  expected  a  battle,  and 
it  was  important  to  fight  one  and  win  if  possible ; 
as  the  French  were  on  the  point  of  making  an  al- 
liance with  America  against  their  inveterate  foes 
the  English. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  BRANDYWINE. 

The  main  body  of  the  American  army  was  now 
encamped  on  the  east  side  of  Red  Clay  Creek. 
The  light  infantry  were  in  advance  at  White  Clay 


i84      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Creek,  having  been  driven  in  about  three  miles 
after  a  severe  skirmish  on  the  3d  of  September. 
On  the  8th  the  British  advanced  in  two  columns, 
one  against  the  American  front,  and  the  other 
(the  British  left)  moving  up  the  west  side  of  the 
creek  toward  Milltown.  Washington  immediately 
suspected  that  Howe's  intention  was  to  get  around 
his  right  and  rear  by  crossing  the  Brandy  wine  and 
getting  between  Washington  and  Philadelphia. 
He  made  a  night  march,  therefore,  and  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  9th  was  encamped  on  high  grounds  in 
rear  of  the  Brandywine.  Chadd's  Ford,  the  prin- 
cipal ford  across  the  river  and  on  the  direct  road 
from  the  British  camp  to  Philadelphia,  was  made 
the  centre  of  the  American  position ;  as  that  was 
thought  to  be  the  object  of  the  next  movement  of 
the  British.  Here  Washington  stationed  Wayne's, 
Weedon's  and  Muhlenberg's  brigades  with  Max- 
well's light  infantry.  The  two  latter  brigades, 
forming  General  Greene's  division,  were  posted  be- 
hind the  heights  as  a  reserve.  Washington  made 
his  headquarters  with  this  reserve.  Maxwell  was 
thrown  across  the  river  on  either  side  of  the  road 
leading  to  the  ford.  The  right  wing  was  com- 
manded by  General  Sullivan,  and  was  composed  of 
his  division  and  those  of  Generals  Stirling  and  Ste- 
phen. It  extended  two  miles  up  the  Brandywine. 
The  cavalry  was  thrown  across  the  creek  on  the 
extreme  right.  The  left  wing  was  composed  of 
the  Pennsylvania  militia  under  General  Armstrong. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       185 

On  the  morning  of  the  1 1  th  the  enemy  advanced 
toward  Chadd's  Ford  in  a  great  column.  Max- 
well's light  infantry  were  driven  across  the  river 
after  a  sharp  skirmish,  and  a  few  attempts  were 
made  to  force  the  ford,  which  resulted  in  contin- 
ual skirmishing  between  Maxwell  and  the  British 
advance  guard  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  first  one 
side  giving  way  and  then  the  other.  In  the  mean- 
time a  terrific  cannonade  was  kept  up  by  both 
armies.  It  seemed  to  be  the  main  attack  of  the 
enemy.  About  noon,  however,  Sullivan  sent  word 
that  Howe  with  a  large  body  of  troops  and  a  park 
of  artillery  was  pushing  on  past  his  right,  with  the 
evident  intention  of  turning  it  and  gaining  his 
rear.  Washington  sent  a  body  of  horse  to  dis- 
cover if  this  was  true  and  made  preparations  to 
attack  the  troops  in  front  of  him,  while  they  were 
thus  detached  from  Howe.  He  gave  orders  for 
Sullivan  to  assist,  and  had  they  made  the  attack 
then  as  Washington  had  planned  they  would  have 
nicely  turned  the  tables  on  Howe.  But  just  as 
Sullivan  was  about  to  move  a  militia  officer  as- 
sured him  that  there  were  no  troops  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  fords  which  it  was  supposed  Howe  was 
going  to  cross.  Sullivan  sent  this  word  to  Wash- 
ington, and  the  contemplated  movement,  which  if 
it  had  been  successful  (as  it  probably  would  have 
been)  would  have  routed  Howe's  army,  was  for 
the  time  abandoned.  This  militia  officer  was  one 
Major  Spicer,  and  to  him  the  blame  may  be  laid 


1 86      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

for  a  defeat  instead  of  a  brilliant  victory.  The 
defeat  would  have  been  more  severe  than  it  event- 
ually proved,  too,  had  it  not  been  for  a  neighbour- 
ing farmer  by  the  name  of  Thomas  Cheyney,  who 
rode  to  Washington  himself,  his  mare  covered 
with  foam,  to  assure  the  latter  that  Howe  really 
had  crossed  the  creek  above  the  American  right 
and  was  now  within  two  miles  of  it.  Washington 
told  him  such  could  not  be  the  case  as  he  had  just 
received  information  to  the  contrary.  The  sturdy 
farmer,  however,  persisted  that  he  was  right,  and 
offered  to  stake  his  life  on  it.  Just  then  another 
despatch  from  Sullivan  confirmed  the  news  brought 
by  the  farmer.  It  was  then  too  late  for  Wash- 
ington to  make  his  counter-movement  on  the 
British  centre  and  left.  The  mischief  was  done. 
It  was  now  necessary  for  him  to  make  every 
exertion  he  could  to  protect  his  threatened 
right.  The  stratagem  that  had  been  employed 
by  the  British  at  the  Battle  of  Long  Island 
had  been  successfully  repeated.  It  was  Kny- 
phausen  in  front  of  Washington  at  Chadd's 
Ford  with  but  a  small  division.  He  had  fooled 
the  American  commander  with  a  prolonged  skir- 
mish and  cannonade,  while  Howe  got  around  to 
the  right  and  rear.  Washington  ordered  Sullivan 
therefore  to  change  front  to  the  right,  quickly, 
each  brigade  attacking  as  soon  as  it  arrived  upon 
the  ground.  Wayne  was  to  oppose  Knyphausen 
at  the  ford  and  Greene  to  hold  himself  in  readi- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       187 

ness  to  move  wherever  needed  with  the  reserve. 
Sullivan  formed  his  new  line  in  front  of  an  open 
piece  of  wood.  Cornwallis  was  in  command  of 
Howe's  left  on  ground  which  he  had  plenty  of 
time  to  choose  while  the  Americans  were  forming 
their  line.  But  the  line  was  not  formed  satisfac- 
torily at  first.  There  was  too  great  a  distance  be- 
tween  the  divisions  of  Sullivan  and  Stephen.  The 
Americans  moved  to  the  right  to  close  this  gap 
and  protect  their  new  right  flank  (the  original 
rear),  and  while  they  were  thus  moving  Cornwallis 
attacked,  his  troops  moving  forward  in  the  most 
perfect  order.  This  changing  of  position  in  the 
immediate  presence  of  the  enemy  was  a  mistake 
often  made  by  our  generals  in  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution. 

Sullivan  vigorously  opposed  Cornwallis,  but  his 
right  and  left  wings  were  both  broken,  only  the 
centre  standing  firm.  It  now,  being  exposed  to 
the  whole  fire  of  the  British  line,  eventually  gave 
way,  also.  In  following  up  their  success,  however, 
the  enemy  got  tangled  up  in  the  woods,  and  the 
Americans  had  time  to  form  another  line  on  a  hill 
to  the  north  of  Dilworth.  Here  they  made  an- 
other spirited  resistance,  but  were  again  driven 
from  their  position  with  heavy  loss.  In  the  first 
part  of  the  fight,  Lafayette,  who  had  ridden  to 
the  right  to  assist  Sullivan,  was  wounded  in  the 
leg  and  had  to  retire  from  the  field. 

In  the  meantime  Knyphausen  assailed  the  cen- 


i88      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

tre.  He  was  opposed  by  Wayne  and  Maxwell. 
Washington  had  gone  to  the  right  to  observe  the 
progress  of  the  fight  there.  Greene  was  about  to 
go  to  the  assistance  of  Wayne  at  the  ford  when  he 
received  orders  from  Washington  to  bring  the 
reserve  at  once  to  the  support  of  the  right  which 
Washington  had  found  in  such  imminent  peril. 
Greene's  troops  made  the  distance  of  five  miles  to 
the  new  position  of  the  right  in  .fifty  minutes,  run- 
ning all  the  way.  He  arrived  too  late  to  save  the 
battle  but  in  time  to  protect  the  defeated  right 
and  save  it  from  annihilation,  after  its  retreat  from 
the  height  at  Dilworth.  He  made  his  fight  about 
a  mile  beyond  that  town  in  a  position  chosen  by 
Washington.  The  British  charged  him  with  great 
enthusiasm,  expecting  but  little  resistance.  To 
their  surprise  they  were  driven  back  time  after 
time.  It  was  a  bayonet  fight  now,  and  the  loss 
was  heavy  on  both  sides.  At  length  Weedon 
who  had  been  posted  in  a  defile  was  obliged  to 
join  Muhlenberg's  brigade  on  the  main  road  for 
his  own  protection  against  superior  numbers.  He 
made  the  movement  in  good  order,  and  at  length 
Greene,  having  successfully  covered  the  retreat  of 
Sullivan's  divisions,  gradually  drew  away  himself 
from  the  superior  force  of  the  enemy.  As  it  was 
late  in  the  afternoon  when  he  did  this,  the  British 
did  not  pursue. 

Greene's  splendid  stand  had  also  been  a  pro- 
tection to  Wayne.     The  latter  had  defended  the 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       189 

ford  until  the  approach  of  British  troops  on  his 
right  told  them  that  the  American  right  had 
been  driven  from  the  field  and  that  he  and 
the  left  were  in  danger.  He  now  withdrew  by 
another  road  to  Chester,  where  he  joined  the 
remainder  of  the  army.  Knyphausen  was  fortu- 
nately too  used  up  and  his  men  too  fatigued  to 
pursue  him.  And  it  was  well  that  the  British  could 
not  pursue,  for  the  Chester  roads  were  now  full 
of  the  disorganised  American  army  in  headlong 
flight.  At  Chester,  however,  there  was  a  deep 
stream  with  a  bridge  over  which  the  fugitives  had 
to  pass.  The  wounded  Lafayette  set  a  guard  at 
the  bridge  to  prevent  further  flight.  Washington 
and  Greene  with  his  comparatively  successful 
divisions  arrived  and  some  degree  of  order  was 
restored.  The  army  took  post  behind  Chester  for 
the  night. 

The  news  of  the  battle  was  received  in  Phila- 
delphia with  consternation  by  the  Whigs  and 
exultation  by  the  numerous  Tories.  Congress 
immediately  adjourned  to  Lancaster,  giving  Wash- 
ington almost  absolute  powers  for  sixty  days  and 
for  seventy  miles  around  headquarters.  It  also 
made  Pulaski  a  brigadier-general  of  cavalry  for  his 
bravery  in  the  action.  General  Conway  also  won 
distinction  by  his  soldierly  qualities  in  the  battle. 
But  the  French  Brigadier  Deborre  had  not  done  so 
well.  His  division  was  the  first  to  break  when 
Cornwallis  made  his  original  attack.  He  tried  to 


190      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

rally  it  and  was  wounded,  but  Congress  ordered  a 
court  of  inquiry  on  his  conduct.  This  offended 
him,  and  he  resigned  his  commission  and  returned 
to  France. 

Howe  made  the  mistake  so  often  found  in  the 
annals  of  war  of  not  following  up  his  advantage 
promptly.  He  remained  during  the  following 
night  and  for  two  days  at  Dilworth.  Lafayette 
afterwards  said  that  had  he  "  marched  directly  to 
Derby,  the  American  army  would  have  been  cut 
up  and  destroyed.  They  lost  a  precious  night, 
and  it  is  perhaps  the  greatest  fault  in  a  war  in 
which  they  have  committed  many." 

Washington  availed  himself  of  the  lack  of 
energy  of  the  enemy,  retreated  through  Derby  and 
across  the  Schuylkill  to  Germantown. 


CHAPTER   XV 

SURPRISE  AND  DEFEAT  OF  WAYNE — HOWE  TAKES 
PHILADELPHIA  —  THE  BATTLE  OF  GERMAN- 
TOWN 

WASHINGTON  was  not  disheartened  by  his  de- 
feat, but  determined  to  again  seek  Howe  and  give 
him  battle.  On  the  I4th  of  September  he  again 
crossed  the  Schuylkill,  and,  advancing  along  the 
Lancaster  road,  tried  to  turn  the  left  of  the  enemy. 
Howe  learned  of  the  movement  and  made  a  similar 
attempt  to  outflank  Washington.  The  armies  met 
near  Warren  Tavern,  but  were  prevented  from 
fighting  by  a  great  rain-storm.  This  storm  seri- 
ously inconvenienced  the  American  forces,  who 
were  many  of  tharn  without  blankets,  or,  in  fact, 
any  protection  from  the  rain,  and  rendered  their 
guns  almost  useless.  Consequently  Washington 
gave  up  his  intention  of  forcing  another  fight,  to 
the  great  discontent  of  many  of  the  civilian  leaders 
in  the  cause.  Washington  now  retreated  to 
French  Creek,  at  a  town  called  Warwick,  where  he 
obtained  some  muskets  and  ammunition,  and  then 
crossed  the  Schuylkill  and  prepared  to  defend  the 
passage  of  that  river  at  Parker's  Ford.  He  de- 
tached Wayne  to  get  in  rear  of  Howe,  join  Small- 

191 


i92      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

wood's  Marylanders,  and  watch  for  an  opportunity 
to  cut  off  Howe's  baggage  train. 

Wayne  made  a  circuitous  march,  got  within 
three  miles  of  the  left  wing  of  the  British  army, 
and  concealed  himself  and  his  division  in  a  wood 
to  await  the  arrival  of  Smallwood.  All  one  day 
Wayne  hovered  about  the  enemy's  camp,  until 
he  became  convinced  that  they  were  going  to  re- 
main there.  He  thought  their  position  an  easy 
one  to  be  attacked,  and  sent  many  messengers 
to  Washington,  urging  the  commander-in-chief  to 
hasten  forward  and  attack  Howe  in  his  disad- 
vantageous position.  Wayne  was  perfectly  con- 
fident that  his  own  movements  had  not  been  ob- 
served and  that  the  secret  of  his  hiding-place  was 
not  known.  In  this  he  was  mistaken.  During 
the  night  he  was  surprised  by  Lord  Grey  with  a 
strong  detachment  and  taught  a  lesson  that  he 
did  not  forget  for  the  rest  of  his  life — and  one, 
too,  that  made  him  afterwards  fhe  most  careful 
general  in  Washington's  army.  A  countryman 
brought  him  intelligence  of  the  advance  of  the 
British  force  against  him,  but  he  did  not  believe 
the  intelligence.  He  doubled  his  pickets,  how- 
ever, and  ordered  his  troops  to  sleep  on  their  arms. 
It  was  nearly  midnight  when  his  pickets  were 
driven  in  and  his  camp  attacked  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  the  weapon  in  which  the  British  so  much 
excelled  the  Americans,  both  from  long  practice 
in  its  use  and  from  better  equipment.  Wayne 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      193 

took  command  of  the  right  of  his  position  when 
the  attack  was  made,  in  order  to  cover  the  retreat 
of  the  left,  led  by  Colonel  Humpton.  But  the 
latter  was  careless  and  formed  his  men  in  front  of 
their  camp-fires,  thus  throwing  them  into  bold 
relief.  The  British  rushed  at  his  force  with  their 
bayonets,  killed  and  wounded  nearly  three  hun- 
dred of  his  men  and  drove  the  rest  from  their 
camp  and  the  field.  Wayne  fired  some  volleys  at 
the  enemy,  but  they  were  satisfied  with  the  blow 
they  had  struck,  and,  taking  with  them  some  pris- 
oners and  Wayne's  heavily-laden  baggage  wag- 
gons, retired  to  their  camp.  General  Smallwood 
was  within  a  mile  of  Wayne  at  the  time,  but  his 
raw  militia  fled  at  the  first  sight  of  the  enemy. 

On  the  2 1st,  Howe  made  a  feint  by  moving 
rapidly  up  the  Schuylkill.  This  drew  Washing- 
ton also  up  the  river  to  protect  the  military  stores 
at  Reading  and  Jiis  own  right  flank.  Then  Howe 
turned  on  his  heel  abruptly,  made  another  quick 
march  back  to  the  ford,  crossed  it,  and  pushed  on 
for  Philadelphia,  halting  for  some  days  at  Ger- 
mantown.  Washington  immediately  sent  to 
Gates  for  the  return  of  Morgan's  riflemen,  whom 
he  had  sorely  missed,  and  to  Putnam  for  twenty- 
five  hundred  reinforcements.  On  the  26th  Howe 
entered  Philadelphia,  sending  Cornwallis  to  take 
possession  of  the  city.  The  brilliant  display  made 
by  the  British  detachment,  with  its  well  uniformed 
legions,  light  dragoons  and  long  trains  of  artillery 
'3 


i94      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

was  in  great  contrast  with  that  made  by  Washing- 
ton's army  a  short  time  before.  The  main  body 
of  the  British  army  remained  in  its  encampment 
at  Germantown. 

After  the  battle  of  the  Brandywine,  Lord 
Howe,  the  British  admiral,  took  his  fleet  from 
the  Chesapeake  around  into  the  Delaware  Bay, 
and  up  the  Delaware  River  as  far  as  he  could  then 
go.  He  anchored  along  the  river  from  Reedy 
Island  to  Newcastle.  He  was  prevented  from 
going  further  by  obstructions  placed  in  the  river. 
These  were  at  Billingsport,  protected  by  a  small 
fort  on  the  New  Jersey  side,  and  consisting  of  a 
chevaux-de-frise  in  the  channel,  and,  between 
Forts  Mifflin  and  Mercer,  a  similar  obstruction 
higher  up  the  river.  '  Washington  had  thrown 
small  garrisons  into  these  forts,  knowing  that  if 
the  British  could  not  obtain  supplies  by  water  he 
could  easily  prevent  them  from  doing  so  by  land. 
Sir  William  Howe  was  quite  as  well  aware  of  the 
necessity  for  taking  these  forts  and  removing  the 
obstructions  in  the  way  of  the  fleet  of  his  brother, 
and  he  detached  part  of  his  army  to  cross  into 
New  Jersey  and  take  the  forts,  beginning  with  the 
small  one  at  Billingsport. 

Through  some  intercepted  letters  which  fell 
into  his  hands  Washington  learned  of  this  move- 
ment of  the  enemy,  and  determined  to  attack  the 
British  in  their  camp  at  Germantown  while  they 
were  thus  weakened  by  the  lack  of  this  detach- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      195 

ment  and  by  the  absence  of  the  troops  under 
Cornwallis  who  were  holding  Philadelphia.  This 
he  did  on  the  4th  day  of  October,  1777. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  GERMANTOWN 

Germantown  was  in  those  days  a  small  town 
consisting  mainly  of  a  double  row  of  houses  along 
the  main  street,  nearly  two  miles  in  length.  The 
houses  were  of  stone,  low  and  separated  from  each 
other  by  gardens  and  orchards.  The  one  large 
house  in  the  village  was  at  the  end  furthest  from 
the  British  camp  and  about  one  hundred  yards  to 
the  east  of  the  road,  which  ran  north  and  south. 
At  the  further  end  the  British  camp  was  divided 
into  two  nearly  equal  parts  by  the  road.  Four 
roads  approached  the  village  from  the  north,  run- 
ning in  this  neighbourhood  nearly  parallel.  The 
Skippack  was  the  main  road  and  formed  the  one 
street  of  the  town.  On  its  right  was  the  Ridge 
road,  which  joined  the  main  road  beyond  the  vil- 
lage. On  the  left  of  the  main  road  (the  Skip- 
pack)  was  the  Limekiln  road,  which  ran  parallel 
to  the  other  and  entered  it  at  right  angles  about 
the  centre  of  the  town.  Still  further  to  the  left 
of  the  main  road  was  the  York  road,  which,  like 
the  Ridge  road  on  the  extreme  right,  joined  the 
main  road  beyond  the  town. 

As  I  have  told  you,  the  British  right  wing, 
under  General  Grant,  was  to  the  right  or  east  of 


i96       HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

the  main  road  and  the  left  wing  to  the  west.  The 
latter  had  a  battalion  of  light  infantry  with  a  train 
of  artillery  stationed  in  advance,  two  miles  to  the 
west  of  the  main  road,  and  an  outlying  picket  with 
two  guns  at  Mount  Airy. 

Washington's  plan  was  for  Sullivan,  command- 
ing the  American  right  wing,  composed  of  his  own 
division  and  Wayne's,  to  march  down  the  main 
road  and  attack  the  British  left  wing.  He  was  to 
be  supported  by  Stirling's  division  as  a  reserve 
and  flanked  by  Conway's  brigade.  General  Arm- 
strong, at  the  same  time,  was  to  march  down  the 
Ridge  road  with  the  Pennsylvania  militia  and  get 
upon  the  enemy's  left  and  rear.  Greene,  com- 
manding the  left  wing,  was  to  march  down  the 
Limekiln  road  and  enter  the  town  at  the  market- 
place. He  had  his  own  division  and  Stephen's, 
and  the  two  were  to  attack  the  British  right.  At 
the  same  time,  McDougall's  brigade  was  to  attack 
its  right  flank ;  while  Smallwood,  with  his  Mary- 
land militia,  and  Forman,  with  his  New  Jersey 
brigade,  were  to  attack  the  British  right  in  rear, 
after  making  a  circuit  by  the  York  road.  Two- 
thirds  of  the  army,  it  will  be  seen,  were  to  attack 
the  British  right,  and  it  was  expected  that  they 
would  drive  it,  and  the  remainder  of  the  army  with 
it,  into  the  Schuylkill  or  perhaps  compel  it  to  sur- 
render. The  battle  was  faultlessly  planned  and 
should  have  succeeded.  Indeed,  it  did  succeed 
for  a  time,  and  the  eventual  catastrophe  was  due, 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION  .   197 

so  far  as  we  can  understand,  almost  solely  to  the 
weather  and  a  mistake  of  Knox's. 

The  army  was  put  in  motion  on  the  night  of 
the  3d  of  October,  taking  the  different  roads  as- 
signed. It  marched  all  night,  making  fifteen 
miles,  and  emerged  from  the  woods  on  Chestnut 
Hill  about  sunrise  on  the  morning  of  the  4th. 
The  outlying  picket  was  killed,  and  the  picket 
guard  driven  in  with  the  loss  of  their  two  six- 
pounders.  The  roll  of  drums  announced  the  Brit- 
ish call  to  arms.  Wayne  immediately  led  a  charge 
against  the  battalion  of  the  2d  infantry,  which, 
as  I  have  told  you,  was  two  miles  in  front  of  the 
British  camp.  The  infantry  broke,  but  reformed, 
again  gave  way,  reformed  again,  when  reinforced 
by  a  body  of  grenadiers,  and  charged  back.  They 
fought  bravely  for  a  time  and  then  broke  and  fled, 
leaving  their  artillery  in  Wayne's  hands.  His 
troops  pursued  with  ardour,  charging  with  the 
bayonet,  and,  burning  with  revenge  for  the 
slaughter  at  Brandywine,  gave  no  quarter  to  the 
British  troops  they  met.  Sullivan  and  Conway 
joined  in  the  attack  on  the  west  of  the  road,  but 
the  left  wing  had  not  yet  got  into  action.  It  was 
a  morning  heavy  with  fog,  and  the  sun  was  so  ob- 
scured that  the  American  troops  frequently  mis- 
took each  other  for  enemies  and  fired  at  each 
other.  The  enemy's  advance  was  soon  driven 
from  the  field.  But  six  companies  of  the4Oth  in- 
fantry threw  themselves  into  the  large  stone  house 


i98      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

I  have  spoken  of,  to  the  east  of  the  road.  This  was 
the  house  of  Judge  Chew,  who  had  been  chief 
justice  of  Pennsylvania  before  the  Revolution. 
Here  they  barricaded  the  doors  and  ascended  to 
the  upper  stories,  where  they  defended  them- 
selves. The  main  body  of  the  British  passed  on 
up  the  street  pursued  by  Wayne.  The  remainder 
of  the  division  should  have  followed  on  after 
Wayne,  paying  no  attention  to  the  stone  house. 
But  being  fired  on  from  the  house  it  stopped. 
General  Knox  insisted  that  a  garrisoned  castle 
should  not  be  left  in  rear,  an  old  military  maxim, 
and  his  objection  prevailed.  But  the  house  could 
not  be  taken,  and  after  losing  valuable  time,  the 
remainder  of  the  division  pressed  on,  leaving  a  regi- 
ment to  guard  the  house.  But  the  two  sections 
of  the  division  could  not  be  reunited.  The  fog 
and  smoke  rendered  objects  indistinct  at  a  dis- 
tance of  but  thirty  yards,  the  different  parts  of 
the  army  could  not  tell  where  the  other  parts 
were,  and  Washington  could  learn  nothing  as  to 
what  was  going  on  and  could  therefore  give  no 
orders.  Still  the  attack  on  the  centre  was  success- 
ful, though  all  the  flank  and  rear  attacks  failed. 
And  Sullivan  pushed  the  left  so  hard  that  it  gave 
way. 

On  the  enemy's  right,  Greene  and  Stephen, 
having  had  to  make  a  circuit,  became  separated. 
Stephen  also  made  the  mistake  of  stopping  to  ex- 
change fire  with  the  British  in  Chew's  house. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       199 

Greene  pushed  on  to  the  market-place,  driving  a 
regiment  of  infantry  before  him.  Here  he  en- 
countered the  right  wing  of  the  British  army,  drawn 
up  in  battle  order.  He  charged  them  so  impet- 
uously that  they  began  to  waver.  At  this  mo- 
ment victory  seemed  about  to  perch  on  the  Amer- 
ican banner.  Forman  and  Smallwood  were  just 
coming  into  action  on  the  extreme  right  flank  of 
the  enemy,  and  the  battle  would  have  been  won 

but  for .     Well,  no  one  has  ever  been  able  to 

explain  satisfactorily  what  that  "  but "  was  for. 
A  singular  panic  seized  the  American  army,  which 
has  never  been  accounted  for.  Sullivan  says  his 
men  ran  out  of  ammunition.  Wayne's  men  re- 
treated at  the  appearance  of  a  large  body  of  troops 
on  its  left  flank,  which  it  supposed  was  a  division 
of  the  enemy,  but  which  was  in  reality  a  part  of 
the  American  army  moving  to  their  assistance. 
Wayne's  officers  tried  to  stop  the  retreat,  but  in 
vain.  When  Wayne's  retreating  troops  fell  back 
they  came  upon  Stephen's  division  and  in  turn 
gave  the  latter  the  idea  that  they  were  British 
troops  which  made  that  division  retreat  in  panic, 
and  in  like  manner  the  whole  army  fell  into  con- 
fusion and  retreated  from  a  victory  which  it  had 
fairly  won.  The  British  now  turned  upon  their 
pursuers  and  drove  them  from  the  field,  and  Lord 
Cornwallis  came  up  with  a  reinforcement  of  cav- 
alry from  Philadelphia.  The  Americans,  how- 
ever, managed  to  get  away  without  losing  either 


2oo      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

their  artillery  or  wounded,  which  was  mainly  owing 
to  Greene,  who  kept  up  a  retreating  fight  for  five 
miles,  and  to  Wayne,  who  checked  the  pursuit  for 
a  time  with  his  cannon.  The  retreat,  however, 
eventually  continued  for  twenty  miles — five  miles 
more  than  the  army  had  advanced.  The  loss  on 
both  sides  was  heavy,  but  the  Americans  suffered 
the  more.  General  Agnew  was  killed  on  the 
British  side,  and  General  Nash  on  the  American, 
while  Colonel  Matthews,  of  one  of  the  Virginia 
regiments,  was  wounded  and  captured  by  the 
enemy. 

The  loss  of  a  battle  was  a  severe  blow  to 
Washington,  but  singularly  enough  it  had  an  ex- 
tremely good  effect  in  Europe.  The  impression 
made  by  what  looked  like  an  audacious  attack  on 
the  British  in  a  position  of  their  own  choosing 
was  greater  and  more  favourable  than  that  of  any 
other  single  battle  of  the  war,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  Bunker  Hill.  And  singularly  enough 
the  battle  had  an  extremely  good  effect  on  the 
American  army  itself,  after  they  got  over  their 
chagrin  at  being  defeated.  They  had  hardly  ex 
pected  to  win  in  a  pitched  battle  with  regulars. 
Now  they  saw  that  they  were  able  to  beat  the 
enemy  when  they  tried  hard  enough,  and  they 
learned  that  they  were  a  good  deal  swifter  in 
their  movements  than  the  British. 

The  army  had  retreated  to   Perkiomen   Creek, 
where  it  remained  for  a  few  days.     There  Wash- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      201 

ington  was  reinforced  by  about  two  thousand 
Rhode  Island,  Maryland,  Virginia  and  Pennsyl- 
vania troops,  and  he  again  advanced  toward  Phil- 
adelphia, taking  up  a  strong  position  at  White 
Marsh.  Here  he  occupied  himself  by  sending 
out  numerous  detachments  to  cut  off  supplies 
from  the  British  army  and  in  preparations  for 
the  defence  of  Forts  Mercer  and  Mifflin.  The 
defences  at  Billingsport  had  been  taken  by  the 
enemy  and  the  obstruction  sremoved.  Howe  was 
equally  anxious  to  take  these  forts  and  let  his 
brother's  ships  pass  up  the  river.  Fort  Mifflin 
was  garrisoned  by  Marylanders  under  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Smith,  and  Washington  put  a  garrison 
of  regulars  into  Fort  Mercer  on  the  New  Jersey 
shore  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Greene,  who 
had  fought  with  Arnold  at  Quebec.  The  obstruc- 
tions were  increased,  and  floating  batteries,  fire 
ships  and  galleys  were  added  to  the  defences 
under  the  command  of  Commodore  Hazelwood. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

SUCCESSFUL  DEFENCE  OF  FORTS  MERCER  AND 
MIFFLIN — CAPTURE  OF  FORTS  MONTGOMERY 
AND  CLINTON — THE  CONWAY  CABAL — CAP- 
TURE OF  FORTS  MERCER  AND  MIFFLIN — 
GATES  AT  THE  HEAD  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  WAR 

COLONEL  GREENE,  accompanied  by  a  young 
French  volunteer  engineer,  hastened  to  put  Fort 
Mercer  in  a  state  of  defence.  Before  his  out- 
works were  completed,  however,  he  was  attacked 
on  the  22d  of  October  by  twelve  hundred  Hes- 
sians under  Count  Donop.  The  latter  sent  a  flag 
demanding  immediate  surrender  and  threatening 
no  quarter  if  the  fort  had  to  be  taken  by  storm. 
Greene  sent  a  reply  to  the  effect  that  he  would 
defend  the  fort  to  the  last.  The  Hessians  im- 
mediately threw  up  a  battery,  under  which  they 
advanced  to  the  attack  in  two  columns.  The 
galleys  and  floating  batteries  under  Commodore 
Hazelwood  gave  them  a  terrific  flanking  fire  as 
they  advanced,  and  for  a  time  there  was  an 
equally  hot  fire  from  the  incompleted  outworks 
of  the  fort.  Greene  did  not  have  enough  men  to 
man  the  outworks  effectively,  however.  Accord- 
ingly, as  prearranged  by  himself  and  Duplessis,  he 
202 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      203 

abandoned  them  at  a  certain  point  in  the  attack 
and  retreated  into  the  strong  redoubt  within  the 
fort.  The  Hessians,  observing  the  cessation  of 
the  fire,  thought  the  fort  already  captured  and  ad- 
vanced through  two  entrances.  Once  well  within 
the  fort  they  were  suddenly  assailed  by  a  murder- 
ous fire  of  both  artillery  and  small  arms  ;  and 
after  suffering  great  loss  were  compelled  to  re- 
treat in  confusion  again  under  the  fierce  fire  from 
Hazelwood's  ships.  Donop  was  mortally  wounded 
and  captured,  dying  a  few  days  later,  bitterly 
grieving  that  his  young  life  had  been  sacrificed  to 
his  own  ambition  and  his  sovereign's  avarice. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Mingerode  was  severely 
wounded  also.  In  all  the  Hessians  lost  about  a 
third  of  their  number  in  killed  and  wounded, 
while  the  American  loss  was  trivial. 

At  the  same  time  that  Donop  attacked  Fort 
Mercer  the  enemy's  ships  to  the  number  of  six 
also  attacked  Fort  MifHin.  They  managed  to 
force  their  way  through  the  lower  line  of  chevaux- 
de-frise  ;  but  the  sixty-gun  ship,  the  Augusta,  and 
the  sloop  Merlin  ran  aground  and  could  not  be 
drawn  off.  The  other  vessels  opened  a  hot  can- 
nonade upon  Fort  MifHin,  but  could  not  get 
within  effective  distance  of  it  owing  to  the  ob- 
structions. The  Americans  tried  to  set  fire  to 
the  two  ships  that  had  run  aground  by  sending 
down  fire-ships,  but  failed.  The  next  day  a  red- 
hot  shot  set  fire  to  the  Augusta,  and  she  was  im- 


204      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

mediately  abandoned.  Before  all  her  crew  were 
taken  off,  however,  she  exploded,  and  some 
officers  and  men  were  killed  who  had  not  had  time 
to  escape.  The  Merlin  was  now  set  on  fire  and 
abandoned.  Congress  presented  Greene,  Smith 
and  Hazelwood  each  with  a  sword  and  its  thanks 
for  their  brilliant  defence  of  the  fort. 

While  all  this  was  going  on,  and  while  Gates 
was  opposing  Burgoyne  in  the  north,  Sir  Henry 
Clinton  moved  up  the  Hudson  on  an  expedition 
against  the  defences  of  the  Highlands.  General 
Clinton  had  command  of  Fort  Montgomery  and 
his  brother  James  of  Fort  Clinton.  Putnam  had 
command  of  the  troops  in  the  vicinity  of  Peeks- 
kill. 

Clinton  made  a  feint  first  against  Putnam  at 
Tarrytown  and  then  another  about  eight  miles 
below  Peekskill.  He  completely  bewildered  the 
old  general,  who  sent  in  haste  to  the  brothers 
Clinton  for  reinforcements.  When  these  had 
started,  Clinton  suddenly  crossed  to  the  other 
side  of  the  river  and,  marching  around  the  Dun- 
derberg,  made  a  rapid  march  around  to  the  rear 
of  the  forts. 

General  Clinton  was  not  as  easily  outwitted  as 
Putnam,  however.  He  perceived  the  meaning  of 
Sir  Henry  Clinton's  manoeuvres  and  in  turn  sent 
to  Putnam  for  reinforcements,  but  the  messenger 
proved  traitor  and  deserted  to  the  enemy.  By 
eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  i6th  of 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      205 

October,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  had  crossed  to  Stony 
Point  and  marched  around  the  Dunderberg. 
Here  he  divided  his  force.  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Campbell  with  one  column  was  to  attack  Fort 
Montgomery,  and  at  the  same  time  Sir  Henry  was 
to  attack  Fort  Clinton.  You  will  see  that  there 
were  four  Clintons  prominent  in  this  war, — the 
Clinton  brothers  on  the  American  side,  Sir  Guy 
Clinton,  Governor  of  Canada,  and  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  who  was  making  this  attack  on  the  Amer- 
ican forts.  On  this  day  fortune  favoured  the 
British  Clinton.  Both  forts  were  captured  after  a 
sturdy  resistance,  though  most  of  the  garrison  of 
each  escaped  and  joined  Putnam,  who  had  failed 
to-  come  to  the  rescue  of  the  forts,  though  he 
plainly  heard  the  firing.  He  persisted  in  be- 
lieving that  Fort  Independence,  which  he  com- 
manded, and  Peekskill  were  the  real  objects  of  the 
attack.  In  the  attack  on  the  forts  a  number  of 
prominent  British  officers  were  killed,  among 
them  Colonel  Campbell,  who  led  the  attack  on 
Fort  Montgomery,  Major  Grant  and  Count  Ga- 
brouski,  a  Polish  aide  on  Sir  Henry  Clinton's 
staff,  who  had  volunteered  in  the  British  cause 
because  of  his  affection  for  Lord  Rawdon.  The 
next  day  the  obstructions  in  the  river  were  re- 
moved by  the  British,  Forts  Independence  and 
Constitution  were  evacuated  (the  American  frig- 
ates and  galleys  stationed  at  the  obstructions  had 
been  set  adrift  and  burned  the  previous  day)  and 


206      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

the  Hudson  was  open  for  the  British  ships.  It 
was  too  late  to  help  Burgoyne,  however.  He  had 
surrendered. 

In  the  meantine  Washington  was  in  for  trouble. 
His  failures  at  the  Brandywine  and  at  German- 
town  had  subjected  him  to  criticism.  Gates  had 
been  triumphant  at  Saratoga,  and,  like  Lee,  had 
begun  scheming  against  his  commander-in-chief. 
And  now  there  was  trouble  with  Conway,  who 
had  developed  into  a  braggart  and  general  mis- 
chief-maker. The  Baron  De  Kalb,  the  grey-haired 
European  veteran  who  had  accompanied  Lafayette 
to  America,  had  been  made  a  major-general  by 
Congress.  Conway  considered  himself  slighted 
by  this  appointment  of  De  Kalb  to  a  rank  higher 
than  his  own,  and  he  made  an  effort  in  Congress  to 
be  promoted  himself.  This  was  strongly  opposed 
by  Washington,  who  had  taken  Conway 's  measure. 
Mifflin,  the  quartermaster-general  of  the  army, 
supported  Conway,  and  when  Conway  learned  of 
Washington's  opposition  to  him,  he  and  Mifflin 
I  formed  a  faction  to  oppose  Washington.  Mifflin 
had  tendered  his  resignation  to  Congress  and  was 
devoting  his  time  to  intrigues  against  Washington. 
Conway  joined  in  the  affair  so  heartily  that  the 
alliance  of  Washington's  enemies  soon  became 
known  as  the  Conway  Cabal.  Its  main  object 
was  to  substitute  Gates  for  Washington  as  com- 
mander-in-chief. Gates,  intoxicated  by  his  success 
and  delirious  with  vanity,  was  perfectly  willing  to 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      207 

be  boosted  by  the  cabal  and  no  doubt  thought  it 
would  succeed.  He  slighted  Washington  by  fail- 
ing entirely  to  report  his  victory  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief,  which  drew  from  the  latter  a 
dignified  rebuke.  He  sent  his  pompous  aide, 
Wilkinson,  to  notify  Congress  of  his  victory. 
The  latter  delayed  so  long  that  the  news  was  old 
when  he  reached  Congress,  and  he  was  deeply 
disappointed  at  not  making  more  of  a  stir  in  that 
body.  The  only  notice  they  took  of  him  was  to 
brevet  him  brigadier-general  after  some  delay. 

About  this  time  Washington  learned  of  the 
cabal  against  him,  but  maintained  a  dignified 
silence  until  he  learned  definitely  of  correspond- 
ence derogatory  to  himself  between  Conway  and 
Gates.  He  then  wrote  Conway  a  short  letter 
quoting  the  derogatory  words.  Conway  was 
frightened  out  of  his  wits  and  at  once  offered  his 
resignation.  But  the  cabal  was  at  work  in  Con- 
gress, and  that  body  would  not  accept  the  resigna- 
tion. Washington  now  sent  Hamilton  in  person 
to  Gates  to  obtain  reinforcements.  As  I  have 
already  told  you,  Washington  had  sent  Morgan  to 
the  aid  of  Gates  when  the  latter  needed  him  ;  but 
Gates  had  failed  to  respond  to  Washington's 
order  to  return  Morgan  and  his  riflemen  now  that 
they  were  needed  by  Washington.  Nor  did  he 
send  reinforcements  from  his  now  practically  use- 
less army  to  the  aid  of  the  commander-in-chief. 

Howe  did  not  give  up  his  attempt  to  take  Forts 


208      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Mifflin  and  Mercer.  On  the  loth  of  November 
he  began  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Mifflin,  and 
on  the  1 6th  the  fort  was  reduced  after  a  terrific 
cannonade  from  batteries  and  ships.  It  was 
almost  levelled  to  the  ground.  What  was  left  of 
the  garrison  retired  during  the  night.  The  defence 
had  been  so  brilliant,  however,  that  Colonel 
Smith,  who  commanded  it,  and  Fleury,  a  French 
engineer  who  assisted  in  the  defence,  were  hon- 
ored. Howe  then  sent  Cornwallis  to  under- 
take the  capture  of  Fort  Mercer.  Washington 
tried  to  reinforce  the  garrison  ;  but  the  reinforce- 
ments arrived  too  late,  and  on  the  appearance  of 
Cornwallis  the  fort  was  abandoned.  Just  after 
the  abandonment  the  tardy  reinforcements  arrived 
from  the  north.  Had  they  come  sooner  the  fort 
might  have  been  saved.  Even  as  it  was,  it  was  too 
late  in  the  season  to  remove  the  major  part  of  the 
obstructions  from  the  river,  and  the  larger  ships 
were  prevented  from  ascending  it.  Sufficient 
were  cleared  away,  though,  to  permit  transports 
to  go  up  to  Philadelphia,  and  thus  the  mam  object 
of  the  British,  that  of  getting  supplies  to  the  city, 
was  accomplished. 

Young  Hamilton,  on  his  trip  north  to  hurry 
reinforcements,  had  encountered  Morgan  on  his 
way.  He  stopped  to  induce  Putnam  to  send  on 
reinforcements.  That  crusty  old  general  did  not 
want  to  do  so.  He  had  in  view  an  attack  on  New 
York  which  he  considered  of  vast  importance. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      209 

As  a  matter  of  fact  Putnam's  idea  was  chimerical, 
and  Hamilton,  in  the  name  of  the  commander-in- 
chief,  had  to  give  Putnam  absolute  orders  before 
the  old  warrior  would  part  with  his  men.  Hamil- 
ton had  even  greater  difficulty  with  Gates.  He 
eventually  succeeded  in  inducing  the  latter  to 
send  the  brigades  of  Poor  and  Patterson  to  Wash- 
ington's aid,  however. 

A  number  of  officers  had  now  resigned  from  the 
army  in  pursuance  of  the  plans  of  the  cabal.  These 
were  Con\vay,Spotswood,Connor,Ross  and  Mifflin. 
A  number  of  others  were  said  to  be  on  the  point  of 
taking  the  same  action.  The  cabal  was  now  in 
fine  working  order,  and  Washington  was  subjected 
to  continual  criticism,  while  the  merits  of  Gates 
were  loudly  proclaimed.  All  Pennsylvania  now 
cried  aloud  to  Washington  for  a  victory.  The 
desolating  hand  of  the  enemy  was  now  upon  that 
state.  The  commander-in-chief  himself  wished 
for  an  engagement.  It  would,  if  successful,  be  of 
great  personal  benefit  to  himself  and  his  prestige 
in  the  dark  days  of  the  cabal.  But  Washington 
was  a  truly  great  man,  and  he  could  sink  his  own 
personal  interests  for  the  good  of  the  cause.  He 
knew  that  even  if  he  could  win  a  victory  it  would 
be  only  by  attacking  the  enemy  on  his  chosen 
ground  and  behind  his  works,  and  the  victory 
would  be  won  at  a  frightful  cost.  Much  as  he 
\vanted  to  close  the  campaign  with  another  battle, 
therefore,  he  decided  in  his  own  mind  not  to  do 


210      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

so.  He  did  call  a  council  of  war,  though,  and  laid 
the  matter  before  them.  After  a  long  and  heated 
session  the  council  broke  up  without  coming  to  a 
decision.  Washington  asked  each  general  to  send 
in  his  opinion  on  the  project  of  an  attack  upon 
the  city  in  writing.  Four  officers  voted  in  favour 
of  it  and  eleven  against  it.  The  idea  was  there- 
fore abandoned.  At  this  time  Lafayette  at  the 
head  of  about  four  hundred  men  of  Greene's 
division  made  an  attack  on  a  British  picket,  killed 
about  twenty  men  and  captured  a  number  more 
without  serious  loss.  He  had  not  yet  recovered 
from  his  wound,  which  made  the  action  on  his 
part  still  more  meritorious.  Washington  took  the 
opportunity,  therefore,  to  recommend  to  Congress 
that  he  be  given  the  actual  command  of  a  division, 
to  which  his  rank  really  entitled  him.  He  was 
therefore  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  division 
of  General  Stephen,  who  had  been  dismissed 
because  of  drunkenness  at  the  battle  of  German- 
town. 

A  change  was  now  made  in  the  Board  of  War, 
and  Gates  was  put  at  the  head  of  it.  One  of  the 
first  acts  of  the  board  was  to  make  Conway  an 
inspector-general  with  the  rank  of  major-general. 
It  was  evidently  now  the  intention  of  the  cabal 
that  Gates  should  become  the  moving  spirit  of  the 
war. 

Howe  was  as  anxious  for  a  general  engagement 
as  Washington  was,  and,  seeing  that  the  latter  did 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      211 

not  intend  to  attack,  he  made  preparations  to  do 
so  himself.  On  the  4th  of  December,  therefore, 
he  moved  out  of  his  intrenchments  in  the  early 
evening  and  during  the  night  advanced  towards 
Washington's  line  of  defences,  constantly  harassed 
by  light  troops  that  Washington  had  thrown  out 
for  the  purpose.  The  next  morning  he  went  into 
camp  about  a  mile  from  Washington's  right. 
After  reconnoitring  throughout  the  day  he 
next  changed  his  position  to  a  hill  about  a 
mile  from  the  American  left.  After  hovering 
about  thus  for  four  days  he  concluded  that 
Washington's  position  was  too  strong  to  be  suc- 
cessfully assailed.  Washington's  heart  beat  high 
with  the  anticipations  of  a  battle  under  such  favour, 
able  circumstances.  But  he  was  again  doomed  to 
disappointment.  On  the  night  of  the  8th  Howe 
had  a  long  line  of  fires  lighted  in  front  of  his 
position,  and,  resorting  to  a  trick  he  had  learned 
from  Washington,  hurriedly  retreated  behind 
them  back  to  his  own  position. 

Winter  was  now  upon  the  army.  It  was  worn 
out,  poorly  clad  and  destitute  of  blankets.  There 
were  plenty  of  clothes  in  various  places,  but  no 
transportation  to  bring  them  to  the  army.  Mif- 
flin  had  let  the  quarter-master's  department  go 
to  rack  and  ruin,  Since  early  summer  he  had 
been  of  little  aid  to  Washington. 

Lancaster^  York  and  Carlisle  were  considered 
by  Washington  as  locations  for  the  winter  camp. 


212       HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

But  to  choose  either  would  be  to  lay  a  great  tract 
of  fertile,  rich  farming  country  open  to  the 
depredations  of  the  enemy.  For  this  reason  he 
eventually  decided  to  "  hut  "  at  Valley  Forge  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  Schuylkill  and  about  twenty 
miles  from  Philadelphia. 

It  was  a  cheerless  army  that  marched  into 
winter  quarters  there.  How  unlike  the  situation 
to  that  of  the  previous  year !  There  were  no 
bright  achievements  to  buoy  up  the  soldiers' 
hopes.  Philadelphia  had  fallen.  The  men  were 
poorly  supplied  with  clothes,  and  the  food  was  so 
scanty  that  a  mutiny  was  barely  avoided.  When 
an  alarm  was  made  that  the  enemy  were  march- 
ing on  Chester,  Washington's  troops  declared  that 
they  would  rather  fight  than  starve.  They  had 
been  without  meat  and  some  also  without  bread 
for  days.  To  cap  the  climax,  the  Pennsylvania 
legislature  now  addressed  a  remonstrance  to  Con- 
gress against  Washington's  going  into  winter 
quarters.  This  exhausted  the  patience  of  the 
commander-in-chief,  and  he,  on  his  part,  addressed 
a  letter  to  Congress,  disclosing  the  actual  condi- 
tion of  the  army  and  the  necessity  not  only  for 
its  remaining  in  winter  quarters  but  for  supplying 
it  properly  with  food  and  clothes.  Congress  saw 
the  point,  permitted  him  to  remain  at  Valley 
Forge,  and  gave  him  authority  to  forage  on  the 
surrounding  country.  He  did  this  reluctantly. 
The  country  about  him  was  peopled  with  friends 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      213 

to  the  cause,  and  he  feared  the  effects  of  such  a 
move  as  plundering  upon  the  morale  of  his  army. 
Bitter  necessity  alone  compelled  him  to  adopt 
the  measure.  The  army  could  not  be  permitted 
to  starve.  Such  were  the  closing  scenes  of  1777. 
It  was  Washington's  hardest  year,  and  the  winter 
at  Valley  Forge  witnessed  the  army's  greatest 
suffering. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

EXPOSURE  OF  THE  CONWAY  CABAL— CONSTER- 
NATION OF  GATES — STEUBEN  AT  VALLEY 
FORGE — DOWNFALL  OF  CONWAY — THE  SIGN- 
ING  OF  THE  TREATY  WITH  FRANCE — HOWE 
SUPERSEDED  BY  CLINTON — THE  MISCHIANZA 

WHILE  Washington  was  in  all  this  trouble 
Gates  had  become  the  popular  idol.  If  he  had 
been  a  strong  man  Washington  would  have  had 
much  to  fear  from  this.  But  he  had  merely  be- 
come weakened  by  his  new-found  glory.  His 
friends  were  flatterers  seeking  their  own  advance- 
ment through  his,  and  they  urged  him  to  take  his 
seat  at  the  head  of  the  Board  of  War  and  save 
the  country. 

But  just  as  he  thought  he  was  secure  in  his 
new-found  glory  came  an  unexpected  blow  which 
filled  him  with  dismay.  Part  of  the  contents  of 
another  letter  from  Conway  to  Gates  was  repeated 
to  Washington.  Gates  did  not  learn  of  this  from 
the  commander-in-chief.  The  latter  maintained  a 
dignified  silence.  Gates  heard  of  the  matter 
through  correspondence  with  Mifflin.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact  the  recent  correspondence  with  Con- 
way  had  been  of  a  nature  that  would  destroy 
214 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      215 

Gates  if  it  had  all  or  even  the  most  important 
parts  of  it  come  to  the  ears  of  Washington.  Mif- 
flin's  letter  did  not  state  just  what  Washington 
knew.  Indeed  the  members  of  the  cabal  were 
all  in  doubt  as  to  what  Washington  did  and  did 
not  know.  That  was  the  difficulty.  In  conster- 
nation Gates  wrote  a  long  letter  to  Washington 
in  which  he  practically  acknowledged  maintain- 
ing a  correspondence  derogatory  to  the  latter. 
His  object  seemed  to  be  mainly  to  find  out  who 
had  been  the  traitor  in  his  camp  and  punish  him. 
He  did  not  seem  to  think  it  possible  that  he 
could  effect  a  reconciliation  with  the  commander- 
in-chief.  And  here,  for  some  strange  reason, 
Gates  made  a  singular  blunder.  He  sent  a  copy 
of  his  letter  to  Washington  to  Congress.  He 
supposed  that  Washington  knew  everything,  and 
he  was  preparing  to  defend  himself  as  best  he 
could. 

Washington  made  a  dignified  reply  to  Gates, 
telling  him  that  all  he  knew  was  that  Conway  had 
written  a  letter  to  him  (Gates),  in  which  he  had 
said  "  Heaven  has  been  determined  to  save  your 
country,  or  a  weak  general  and  bad  counsellors 
would  have  ruined  it."  This  was  actually  all  that 
Washington  knew,  but  the  letter  of  Gates  had 
made  it  perfectly  evident  that  there  had  been 
much  more  to  the  correspondence.  Washington 
now  told  Gates  that  this  extract  from  Conway's 
letter  had  been  communicated  by  Wilkinson, 


216      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Gates'  toady  and  aide-de-camp,  to  General  Stir- 
ling's aide,  Major  McWilliams.  Washington  told 
Gates  that  as  the  information  had  come  from  his 
aide-de-camp  he  considered  that  it  had  been 
communicated  as  a  friendly  act  to  forewarn  the 
commander-in-chief  of  a  dangerous  enemy.  As 
Gates  had  sent  his  letter  in  duplicate  to  Congress, 
Washington  sent  his  reply  in  the  same  manner  to 
that  body,  and  the  result  was  that  the  whole 
country  soon  knew  of  the  cabal  against  Wash- 
ington, or  at  least  the  part  played  in  it  by  Conway. 

Gates  now  thought  he  was  secure.  He  tried 
to  explain  away  the  matter  and  in  doing  so 
mixed  matters  up  in  such  a  way  that  Washington 
could  not  fail  to  see  that  Gates  was  not  telling  the 
truth,  and  that  there  was  back  of  the  matter  an 
intrigue  against  him  in  which  Gates  had  a  promi- 
nent part.  He  compared  the  two  letters  from 
Gates,  analysed  them  for  the  benefit  of  the  writer 
and  gave  the  results  in  a  freezing  letter  which  he 
again  laid  before  Congress. 

The  cabal  now  sought  a  scapegoat  and  decided 
upon  Wilkinson  as  the  sufferer.  He  was  removed 
from  Gates'  staff  and  otherwise  humiliated.  Burn- 
ing with  resentment,  Wilkinson  challenged  both 
Gates  and  Stirling  to  duels,  but  both  were  pre- 
vented. Wilkinson's  career,  however,  was  practi- 
cally closed  with  the  incident.  Out  of  the  matter 
too  came  real  good.  Washington's  friends  in 
Congress  and  the  public  in  general  were  put  on 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      217 

their  guard,  and  the  danger  from  the  cabal  was  at 
an  end. 

The  cabal  did  not  die  without  an  expiring  effort, 
however.  It  sought  to  wean  Lafayette  from  his 
allegiance  to  the  commander-in-chief.  For  this 
purpose  he  was  offered  the  command  of  an  expe- 
dition to  invade  Canada  during  the  winter  by  the 
Board  of  War.  The  expedition  had  been  planned 
without  being  referred  to  Washington,  and  Lafa- 
yette, angered  at  the  apparent  snub  to  his  idol,  was 
for  declining  the  command  without  thanks.  But 
Washington  persuaded  him  to  take  it.  Conway 
was  to  be  second  in  command  and  to  be  the  real 
head  of  affairs.  But  Lafayette  would  not  have 
this  and  insisted  that  De  Kalb  be  made  second  in 
command.  His  request  was  reluctantly  granted. 
The  cabal  did  not  find  Lafayette  so  easy  to  handle 
as  they  imagined.  On  this  account  probably  they 
relaxed  their  efforts,  and  the  campaign  was  aban- 
doned after  Lafayette  and  Conway  had  arrived  at 
Albany,  where  the  force  for  it  was  to  rendezvous. 

Washington  now  undertook  the  formation 
of  a  new  system  for  his  army  and  the  reform- 
ation of  the  abuses  which  had  brought  it  to 
such  a  critical  condition.  But  the  reforms  were 
slow  in  going  into  operation,  and  the  distress  of 
the  army  continued  to  increase.  They  were  half 
naked  and  half  starving  in  their  hut  encampment, 
or  more  properly  yillage,  at  Valley  Forge.  They 
did  not  even  have  sufficient  straw  to  sleep  on. 


218      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Sickness  spread  in  the  camp,  there  were  no  medi- 
cines for  the  sick  and  not  even  forage  enough  for 
the  horses,  which  died  of  starvation.  Yet  the  men 
stuck  to  Washington  and  the  fortunes  of  their 
country  with  a  degree  of  fortitude  and  patience 
that  was  absolutely  sublime. 

In  Philadelphia  the  British  army  was  faring  in 
a  very  opposite  manner.  They  had  plenty  to  eat, 
drink  and  wear.  The  inhabitants  had  to  suffer  of 
course,  as  provisions  and  fuel  were  dear  on  account 
of  the  investment  of  the  place  by  Washington, 
which,  incomplete  and  weak  as  it  was,  yet  pre- 
vented the  people  and  the  enemy  from  drawing 
on  the  surrounding  country  for  supplies.  Gam- 
bling and  riotous  living  of  every  description  were 
indulged  in  by  the  officers  to  the  great  horror  of 
the  inhabitants,  many  of  whom  were  Quakers. 
One  of  the  posts  of  American  troops  which  guard- 
ed the  country  was  commanded  by  "Light  Horse 
Harry  "  Lee.  He  was  attacked  by  a  party  of  the 
enemy  which  greatly  outnumbered  his  own  force, 
but  he  defended  himself  so  skilfully  that  he  drove 
the  enemy  away  with  severe  loss  and  saved  his  own 
men  and  even  his  horses.  This  so  pleased  Wash- 
ington that  the  son  of  his  "  lowland  beauty  "  was 
made  a  major  and  put  in  command  of  a  squadron. 

In  the  latter  part  of  February,  1778,  the  cele- 
brated Baron  Steuben  arrived  at  Valley  Forge, 
having  been  induced  to  give  up  his  military  em- 
ployments in  Europe  and  join  the  American  cause 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      219 

by  Franklin  and  Deane,  the  envoys  in  Paris.  He 
was  a  scientifically  trained  soldier  and  a  splendid 
disciplinarian.  He  immediately  took  charge  of 
the  drills  and  inspections  of  the  army  and  before 
the  ensuing  campaign  had  it  well  drilled  in 
field  manoeuvres  of  which  heretofore  they  had 
been  totally  ignorant,  officers  as  well  as  men.  He 
was  a  hotheaded  old  fellow  and  scolded  the  men 
roundly  in  every  language  of  which  he  was  mas- 
ter (of  which  the  English  language  was  not  one). 

Nevertheless  he  became  a  great  favourite  with 
the  men,  and  his  constant  inspections  of  their  arms, 
clothing  and  quarters  soon  made  their  life  more 
tolerable.  Matters  now  began  to  brighten.  Greene 
was  made  quartermaster-general,  though  still  re- 
taining his  rank  in  the  regular  army.  By  his  won- 
derful exertions  the  army  was  put  in  excellent 
condition  and  ready  to  take  the  field  and  move 
rapidly  the  moment  it  should  be  found  necessary. 

Congress,  the  body  of  blunderers,  now  turned  to 
Washington's  side  again  overwhelmingly  and 
made  Gates  and  Conway  understand  distinctly 
that  they  were  at  all  times  under  the  immediate 
orders  of  the  commander-in-chief.  Conway  had 
been  left  at  Albany,  when  Lafayette  and  De  Kalb 
left  after  the  failure  of  the  Canadian  project. 
From  there  he  was  ordered  to  join  the  army  un- 
der McDougall  at  Fishkill.  He  was  soon  ordered 
back  to  Albany,  however,  and  this  fired  his  anger 
He  wrote  to  Congress  a  petulant  letter  in  which 


220      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

he  protested  against  what  he  called  a  "  burlesque 
disgrace  "  and  declared  that  "  his  honour  would  not 
permit  him  to  stand  it."  Congress,  glad  of  a  chance 
to  get  rid  of  him,  considered  this  tantamount  to  a 
resignation  and  promptly  accepted  the  same. 
This  was  not  at  all  to  Conway's  liking,  and  he  en- 
deavoured without  success  to  have  the  acceptance 
revoked.  He  made  the  mistake  now  of  venting 
his  spite  on  Washington  and  in  consequence  was 
challenged  to  a  duel  by  General  Cadwalader,  one 
of  Washington's  staunchest  supporters.  Conway 
was  wounded  in  the  duel  and  nearly  died  from  the 
effects  of  the  wound.  To  the  surprise  of  every 
one  he  recovered  and  went  back  to  Europe.  On 
the  6th  of  May,  Steuben  was  made  a  major-gen- 
eral and  inspector-general  in  Conway's  place. 

On  May  2d  a  treaty  was  signed  with  France,  by 
which  the  independence  of  the  United  States  was 
recognised  by  the  older  country,  and  the  two  be- 
came allies  in  the  war  with  Great  Britain.  This 
induced  parliament  to  pass  some  measures  called 
the  "  Conciliatory  Bills  "  and  to  send  a  committee 
to  America  to  endeavour  to  arrange  affairs  with 
what  England  still  called  "  her  colonies."  If 
these  bills  had  been  passed  before  the  war  began 
we  might  still  be  colonies  of  England,  but  now 
they  were  too  late.  Congress  and  the  people  paid 
no  attention  to  them  except  to  say  that  they 
would  treat  with  England  when  the  latter  country 
withdrew  her  troops  and  ships  from  America  and 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      221 

acknowledged  the  independence  of  the  States. 
The  committee  and  the  bills  were  both  a  bur- 
lesque, and  none  came  to  realise  the  fact  sooner 
than  the  committee  itself,  which  soon  gave  up  in 
disgust  the  attempt  to  conciliate  the  Americans. 
The  committee,  as  a  last  resort,  tried  to  bribe 
Washington  and  other  influential  Americans,  of 
course  without  success.  For  the  purpose  they 
needed  an  influential  man  to  lay  the  matter  before 
these  "  prominent  Americans,"  and  they  boldly 
offered  General  Reed  ten  thousand  pounds  and 
any  office  in  the  colonies  in  the  king's  gift  to  be 
their  emissary.  To  their  offer  Reed  made  his 
celebrated  reply  which  every  schoolboy  in  the 
land  knows.  "  I  am  not  worth  buying,"  said  Reed, 
"  but  such  as  I  am  the  King  of  England  is  not  rich 
enough  to  buy  me."  As  a  last  resort  the  committee 
issued  a  manifesto  offering  to  treat  with  the  depu- 
ties from  all  or  any  of  the  colonies.  No  attention 
was  paid  to  it.  Lord  Carlisle  wrote  to  a  friend  : 

"  I  enclose  you  our  manifesto,  which  you  will 
never  read. — 'Tis  a  sort  of  dying  speech  of  the 
commission. — Everything  is  great  upon  this  con- 
tinent. The  rivers  are  immense ;  the  climate  vio- 
lent in  heat  and  cold  ;  the  prospects  magnificent ; 
the  thunder  and  lightning  tremendous.  We  have 
nothing  on  a  great  scale  with  us  but  our  blunders, 
our  misconduct,  our  ruin,  our  losses,  our  disgraces, 
our  misfortunes " 

Poor  General  Howe  was  held  accountable  for 


222      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

these  "  losses,  ruins,  disgraces  and  misfortunes," 
and  he  was  relieved  of  the  command  of  the  Brit- 
ish army.  When  he  departed  a  great  fete  was 
held  in  his  honour,  however,  called  the  Mischianza. 
It  consisted  of  a  regatta,  tournament  and  pageant. 
It  was  the  silliest  kind  of  affair  and  quite  out 
of  place  in  an  army  which,  with  superior  numbers, 
had  been  cooped  up  all  winter  in  the  city  by  the 
"  old  Continentals  in  their  ragged  regimentals." 
There  were  triumphal  arches  and  a  gorgeous 
avenue  lined  with  the  colours  of  all  the  regiments 
in  the  British  army.  There  were  also  a  number  of 
officers  dressed  as  "  Knights  of  the  Blended  Rose  " 
and  "  Knights  of  the  Burning  Mountain,"  to  say 
nothing  of  fourteen  beautiful  damsels  dressed  in 
Turkish  fashion.  Major  Andr6  was  one  of  the 
projectors  of  this  effeminate  entertainment  and 
figured  in  it  as  one  of  the  "  Blended  Rose  "  dandies. 
In  a  letter  to  a  lady  friend  he  declared  that  his  par- 
ticipation in  the  affair  had  made  him  a  "  complete 
milliner  "  and  offered  to  buy  her  supplies  in  that 
line.  He  was  a  fair  specimen  of  the  British  chiv- 
alry of  the  time  and  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  dis- 
sipations that  had  shocked  the  staid  old  inhabitants 
of  Philadelphia.  He  was  afterwards  hung  as  a  spy. 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  was  put  in  command  of 
Howe's  army,  and  all  Americans  were  delighted 
at  the  change.  They  knew  Clinton  and  his  meth- 
ods better  than  the  English  did,  and  they  knew 
him  to  be  an  easier  man  to  defeat  than  Howe. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      223 

Soon  after  Clinton  took  command  of  the  British 
army,  Washington  observed  what  he  considered 
symptoms  of  an  intention  on  the  part  of  the 
enemy  to  evacuate  Philadelphia.  Howe  had 
made  a  serious  raid  through  the  Jerseys,  also.  To 
watch  the  British  in  the  city,  therefore,  and  to 
guard  the  Jerseys,  he  sent  Lafayette  with  about 
twenty-one  hundred  men  across  the  Schuylkill  to  a 
point  about  half-way  between  Valley  Forge  and 
the  city.  Clinton  received  intelligence  of  this  and 
sent  General  Grant  with  about  five  thousand  men 
to  surprise  and  capture  Lafayette  and  his  com- 
mand. They  nearly  succeeded,  too ;  but  by  em- 
ploying the  ruse  worked  so  frequently  in  this  war 
of  pretending  to  defend  a  camp  which  he  was 
really  deserting  as  fast  as  his  troops  could  march 
Lafayette  escaped  with  the  loss  of  but  few  men. 

The  long  delayed  exchange  of  General  Prescott 
for  General  Lee  now  took  place,  the  British  at 
last  giving  up  their  claim  that  Lee  was  a  deserter 
from  their  own  service.  Ethan  Allen  was  at  the 
same  time  exchanged  for  Colonel  Campbell.  Lee 
resumed  his  office  as  second  in  command  and  was 
soon  as  arrogant  as  ever.  Allen  was  brevetted 
colonel  and  remained  for  some  time  at  Valley 
Forge,  where  he  was  a  subject  of  great  interest 
on  account  of  his  captivity  and  sufferings.  He 
soon  left  for  his  Vermont  home,  however,  and  did 
not  again  take  up  arms  in  behalf  of  the  colonies. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  EVACUATION  OF  PHILADELPHIA — THE  BAT- 
TLE OF  MONMOUTH — CLINTON'S  RETREAT  TO 
NEW  YORK  —  COURT-MARTIAL  OF  GENERAL 
LEE 

THE  British  delayed  long  about  evacuating 
Philadelphia.  It  was  not  until  June  that  it  was 
apparent  that  the  total  evacuation  was  about  to 
take  place,  and  not  until  the  i8th  of  that  month 
that  it  actually  did  occur.  The  signs  pointed  to 
a  march  through  the  Jerseys  to  New  York  for  the 
British  army,  and  Washington  considered  the  ad- 
visability of  pursuing  them  and  making  them 
fight.  He  laid  the  plan  before  his  officers,  most 
of  whom  were  in  favour  of  it.  It  was  strongly  op- 
posed, however,  by  Lee.  He  declared  that  he 
would  pave  their  way  with  gold  if  they  would  only 
return  to  New  York,  and  he  did  not  believe  the 
army  was  strong  enough  to  risk  a  battle.  Was 
Lee  still  jealous  of  any  success  that  Washington 
might  win  ?  Was  he  still  aspiring  to  the  office  of 
commander-in-chief,  in  Washington's  place  ?  It 
would  appear  so.  But  Washington  thoroughly 
understood  Lee,  and  in  a  polite  manner  admon- 
ished him  not  to  indulge  in  his  cynical  criticisms 
224 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      225 

to  the  extent  he  formerly  had.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  Lee  was  beginning  to  talk  too  much  in  his 
old  way. 

But  Washington  no  longer  had  the  great  regard 
for  Lee's  opinions  that  he  formerly  had.  Greene, 
Lafayette,  Wayne  and  Cadwalader,  all  tried  friends 
of  Washington,  believed  with  him  in  the  advisa- 
bility of  forcing  Clinton  to  fight. 

Clinton  evacuated  Philadelphia  with  great  se- 
crecy, commencing  the  movement  across  the 
Schuylkill  at  three  in  the  morning.  By  ten  o'clock 
his  rear-guard  was  safely  over.  Washington  sent 
Maxwell  with  his  brigade  to  co-operate  with  Gen- 
eral Dickinson  and  the  New  Jersey  militia  to 
harass  Clinton  on  his  march,  and  followed  after 
the  retreating  enemy  with  the  remainder  of  the 
army,  though  he  sent  Arnold  with  a  small  force 
to  occupy  the  city,  as  Arnold  had  not  yet  recov- 
ered from  his  wound.  Clinton  marched  along  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Delaware  as  far  as  Trenton, 
and  Washington  had  to  make  a  detour  to  the 
crossing  place,  where  he  had  been  that  winter 
night,  a  year  and  a  half  before,  when  he  fell  upon 
Trenton.  Washington  suspected  that  Clinton 
wished  to  draw  him  into  the  open  country  for  an 
engagement,  and  held  another  council  of  war.  In- 
fluenced by  Lee,  the  council  agreed  by  a  majority 
vote  that  it  would  be  better  to  follow  Clinton  at 
a  distance.  Clinton  moved  towards  Brunswick, 
with  the  intention  of  embarking  on  the  Raritan 
15 


226      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

for  New  York.  He  saw  that  he  would  be  opposed 
there  by  Washington's  detached  forces  and  prob- 
ably also  by  Gates,  who  was  now  marching  down 
from  the  north.  He  turned  abruptly  to  the  right, 
therefore,  and  made  for  Sandy  Hook,  with  the  in- 
tention  of  embarking  at  the  latter  place.  Wash- 
ington at  once  penetrated  his  design.  He  sent 
Wayne  with  a  thousand  men  to  reinforce  the  ad- 
vance corps,  which  now  numbered  about  four 
thousand  men.  The  advance  should  have  been 
commanded  by  Lee,  as  senior  major-general.  La- 
fayette desired  it,  however,  and  Lee  was  easily* 
prevailed  on  to  relinquish  the  command  in  his 
favour.  Lee  did  not  think  he  would  suit  carrying 
out  orders  with  which  he  did  not  agree.  He  soon 
afterward  repented  of  his  dicision  and  wished  the 
command  back  again.  He  saw  it  was  going  to  be 
the  most  important  in  the  army.  Washington 
was  in  some  perplexity  as  to  the  matter  of  satis- 
fying Lee,  without  wounding  the  feelings  of  La- 
fayette. He  solved  the  difficulty  by  still  further 
increasing  the  command  and  sending  Lee  with  the 
reinforcements.  This  put  Lee  in  command,  as  he 
was  the  senior.  Washington  also  explained  mat- 
ters to  Lafayette.  It  proved  to  be  a  costly  sub- 
stitution, and  the  mistake  of  superseding  Lafa- 
yette lost  the  battle  of  Monmputh.  It  was  the 
evening  of  the  2/th  of  June  when  Lee  regained 
the  command  of  the  advance.  That  night  Clinton 
encamped  on  high  ground  at  Monmouth  Court- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      227 

House.  Lee,  with  the  advance,  was  five  miles 
distant  at  Englishtown.  Washington  rode  for- 
ward and  reconnoiteredthe  position  of  the  enemy. 
It  was  protected  by  woods  and  morasses  and  too 
strong  to  be  attacked  with  much  hope  of  success. 
But  if  they  were  permitted  to  go  on  they  would 
secure  ground  still  more  favourable  for  defence. 
He  resolved,  therefore,  to  attack  Clinton's  rear  as 
soon  as  the  head  of  the  British  column  was  put  in 
motion.  He  gave  orders  for  Lee  to  be  ready  to 
make  this  movement  and  sent  out  Generals  Dick- 
inson and  Morgan  to  lie  near  the  enemy's  lines 
and  see  whether  the  English  would  endeavour  to 
evacuate  their  camp  during  the  night. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  MONMOUTH 

The  British  vanguard,  under  Knyphausen,  be- 
gan moving  early  on  the  morning  of  the  28th. 
Dickinson  informed  Washington,  and  the  latter 
ordered  Lee  to  attack,  unless  there  should  be  ex- 
traordinary reasons  for  not  doing  so,  and  he  told 
Lee  that  he  would  immediately  come  on  to  his 
support  with  the  main  body.  The  main  part  of 
the  British  army  waited  for  its  long  train  of  wag- 
gons to  pull  out  before  moving.  Lee  advanced 
with  the  brigades  of  Wayne  and  Maxwell.  The 
troops  under  Dickinson  and  Morgan  were  already 
skirmishing  with  the  British  rear-guard.  Lee 
moved  slowly,  as  the  country  was  cut  up  by  woods 


228      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

and  morasses  and  difficult  to  move  in.  He  was 
soon  joined,  therefore,  by  Lafayette,  with  the 
main  body  of  the  advance.  When  he  reached  the 
heights  of  Freehold,  he  rode  forward  to  recon- 
nitre  and  descried  what  he  thought  was  a  de- 
tachment of  the  enemy,  which  he  determined  to 
cut  off.  To  accomplish  this  he  had  Wayne  skir- 
mish in  its  rear,  while  he,  with  the  main  body, 
made  a  short  cut  through  the  woods  to  cut  it  off.  He 
was  so  certain  of  accomplishing  his  object  that  he 
wrote  Washington  a  note  assuring  him  of  success. 
The  movement  made  by  Lee  had  been  observed 
by  Clinton,  who  turned  about,  and  Lee  brought 
up  face  to  face  with  the  whole  rear  division  of  the 
British  army.  He  tried  to  form  his  troops  for  ac- 
tion. His  artillery  opened,  and  his  skirmishers 
repulsed  an  attack  by  the  light  horse.  His  orders 
do  not  seem  to  have  been  made  with  much  clear- 
ness, however.  At  any  rate  they  were  misunder- 
stood. Mistakes  were  made,  and  one  regiment 
after  another  fell  back,  until  Lee's  whole  advance 
was  in  full  retreat  before  an  inferior  force.  Nor 
did  he  make  any  effort  to  check  the  retreat  or 
send  notice  of  it  to  Washington. 

The  commander-in-chief  was,  of  course,  with  the 
main  body  and  rapidly  advancing  to  Lee's  support. 
The  booming  of  cannon  told  him  that  the  attack 
had  commenced,  and  he  pressed  on  with  still  more 
ardor.  At  Freehold  the  road  forked.  He  sent 
Greene  by  one  road  to  flank  the  enemy,  while  he 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      229 

went  forward  by  the  other.  While  giving  these 
directions  a  farmer  rode  up  and  told  him  his 
advance  was  retreating.  An  American  soldier, 
coming  back  in  breathless  haste  and  in  a  fine 
fright,  corroborated  the  farmer.  Amazed  and  in- 
censed Washington  sprang  on  his  horse  and  gal- 
loped to  the  front.  On  his  way  he  soon  met  the 
fugitives  returning  from  the  field.  He  began  to 
see  that  the  news  was  only  too  true.  He  soon 
met  two  regiments  in  full  and  disorderly  retreat. 
Washington  was  informed  by  their  colonels  that 
the  whole  corps  was  in  retreat.  Still  Washington 
could  hardly  believe  them.  There  had  been  little 
firing  and  he  had  received  no  notice  of  the  retreat 
from  Lee.  Soon  several  columns  of  Lee's  force 
were  observed  also  in  retreat.  Colonel  Shreve  of 
one  of  the  regiments  assured  Washington  that  the 
whole  corps  was  in  full  retreat — why  he  did  not 
know,  as  there  had  been  but  a  slight  skirmish  with 
the  enemy's  horse.  The  other  officers  of  this 
regiment  were  in  a  state  of  mind  similar  to  that  of 
their  colonel.  One  declared  that  they  were  fly- 
ing from  a  shadow. 

Washington  was  now  thoroughly  exasperated. 
He  rode  forward  and  soon  met  Lee.  He  angrily 
asked  Lee  what  the  meaning  of  the  retreat  and 
disorder  was.  He  had  already  formed  the  opinion 
that  Lee  had  retreated  on  purpose  to  upset  the 
plans  which  had  been  adopted  without  his  con- 
currence, and  although  Washington  seems  to  have 


230      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

jumped  at  the  conclusion,  which  was  something 
unusual  with  him,  he  was  probably  right.  Wash- 
ington's anger  was  terrible,  and  Lee  was  so  discon- 
certed that  he  hesitated  in  his  reply.  This  an- 
gered Washington  still  more,  and  again  he  thun- 
dered his  question  at  Lee.  His  manner  stung  Lee 
more  than  his  words.  He  made  an  angry  reply, 
and  Washington  used  still  stronger  expressions. 
Lee  tried  to  explain  that  his  troops  had  been 
thrown  into  confusion,  by  disobedience  of  orders 
among  his  inferiors  and  by  the  meddling  and 
blundering  of  others.  He  declared  further,  how- 
ever, and  in  apparent  contradiction  of  the  fore- 
going explanation,  that  he  did  not  think  it  prudent 
to  face  the  whole  British  army  with  his  small  de- 
tachment. Washington  informed  him  that  he  had 
certain  information  that  it  was  but  a  strong  cov- 
ering detachment  of  the  enemy.  Lee  answered 
that  at  any  rate  it  was  larger  than  his  own. 
Washington  taunted  Lee  with  unwillingness  to  go 
into  the  fight.  Lee  said  he  did  not  think  it  pru- 
dent to  bring  on  a  general  engagement.  Washing- 
ton replied  that  the  matter  had  not  been  left  to 
his  opinion  and  that  he  had  failed  to  obey  orders. 
The  enemy  were  now  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  army,  and  Washington  promptly  made  arrange- 
ments to  retrieve  the  ground  lost.  The  troops 
were  rallied  on  the  high  ground  where  they  now 
stood,  and  the  artillery  was  placed  on  their  flank 
and  on  a  hill  to  support  them.  By  this  Washington 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      231 

hoped  to  check  the  enemy  while  he  formed  the 
main  body  on  a  height  in  the  rear.  Washington's 
anger  had  cooled  somewhat  now,  and  he  left  Lee 
in  command  on  the  height,  the  latter  declaring 
that  he  would  not  be  the  first  to  leave  in  case  he 
was  driven  back.  Washington  now  brought  on 
the  main  body  and  formed  it  on  a  height  with  a 
wood  in  rear  and  a  morass  in  front.  Greene  com- 
manded the  right  wing  and  Stirling  the  left.  Lee 
maintained  his  position,  fighting  gamely,  but  was 
eventually  driven  back.  He  formed  behind  the 
morass  ;  but  the  men  were  exhausted  by  the  fight- 
ing, marching  and  countermarching,  and  Washing- 
ton ordered  him  and  his  men  to  Englishtown  to 
collect  the  fugitives. 

The  English  advanced  under  a  hot  artillery  fire 
and  tried  to  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  American 
army.  They  were  repulsed  by  Stirling  and  then 
tried  to  turn  the  right  flank  where  they  were  driven 
back  with  severe  loss  by  Greene,  his  batteries  get- 
ting an  enfilading  fire  on  part  of  the  attacking 
force.  They  suffered  greatly,  too,  from  the  fire  of 
Wayne's  men,  who  were  somewhat  sheltered  in 
an  advanced  position  by  an  orchard  and  a  barn. 
Colonel  Monckton  with  a  regiment  of  grenadiers 
now  tried  to  drive  Wayne  from  his  well-chosen 
spot  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  But  Wayne  re- 
served the  fire  of  his  men  until  the  enemy  were 
almost  upon  them.  A  terrific  volley  then  killed 
Monckton  and  slaughtered  his  troops,  who  were 


232       HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

repulsed.  The  whole  British  force  now  retreated 
to  the  ground  occupied  by  Lee  in  the  morning. 
Washington  was  about  to  renew  the  battle  and 
attack  them  in  this  position  in  turn  when  the  day 
drew  to  a  close.  The  army  lay  in  position  all 
night  on  their  arms,  in  order  to  be  ready  to  make 
the  attack  in  the  morning. 

In  the  morning,  however,  the  discovery  was  made 
that  the  entire  British  army  had  retreated  during 
the  night,  leaving  a  number  of  their  wounded  to 
be  cared  for  by  the  Americans.  As  they  had 
started  early  in  the  night  they  were  too  far  on 
their  way  to  be  followed  successfully  by  Washing- 
ton's tired  troops  in  such  hot  weather.  The  roads 
too  were  deep  and  sandy  ;  there  was  little  drinking 
water  ;  and  the  country  was  such  that  a  small  force 
of  the  enemy  could  at  any  time  hold  the  whole 
American  army  in  check  while  the  remainder 
pressed  on.  This  was  especially  the  case  near  the 
point  of  embarkation.  The  pursuit  was  therefore 
abandoned.  The  American  loss  was  about  eighty 
killed  and  double  that  number  wounded.  Among 
the  killed  were  Colonel  Bonner  and  Major  Dick- 
inson. 

The  British  loss  was  much  more  severe,  and,  as 
I  have  told  you,  the  gallant  Monckton  was  killed 
while  making  his  charge  on  Wayne.  Washington 
now  detached  General  Maxwell  with  his  brigade 
and  Morgan  with  his  riflemen  to  hang  on  the 
enemy's  rear  and  harass  them,  while  he,  with  the 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      233 

main  army,  pushed  on  to  the  Hudson,  by  the  way 
of  Brunswick. 

Washington  camped  near  Brunswick,  to  give  his 
army  a  much  needed  rest,  and  despatched  young 
Lieutenant-colonel  Aaron  Burr  on  a  reconnoi- 
tring expedition.  The  latter  sent  spies  into  New 
York  and  others  to  various  points  on  the  Hudson 
to  watch  the  enemy,  and  especially  the  enemy's 
shipping,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  at  once  of 
any  intended  movement  of  the  enemy,  who, 
Washington  supposed,  might  be  meditating  an 
attack  on  the  defences  recently  constructed  on  the 
Hudson. 

Clinton  .arrived  at  Sandy  Hook  on  the  3Oth  of 
June,  having  lost  nearly  two  thousand  men  during 
his  march  through  the  Jerseys  by  desertion.  Most 
of  these  were  Hessians.  The  fleet  of  Lord  Howe 
arrived  at  the  Hook  on  the  5th  of  July  and  con- 
veyed Clinton's  troops  to  Staten  Island,  Long 
Island  and  New  York  City. 

Lee  asked  for  a  court-martial  on  his  conduct 
during  the  battle,  and  the  favour  was  promptly 
granted  to  him.  Washington  made  three  charges 
against  him  of  disobedience  of  orders,  misbehav- 
iour before  the  enemy  and  disrespect  to  the  com- 
mander-in-chief.  The  court-martial  found  him 
guilty  of  all  three  of  the  charges,  and  he  was  sen- 
tenced to  be  suspended  from  command  for  one 
year. 

Lee  now  followed  the  example  set  by  Conway 


234      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

and  abused  Washington  in  outrageous  terms,  both 
in  his  correspondence  and  by  word  of  mouth. 
This  brought  him  a  challenge  from  Colonel  Lau- 
rens  of  Washington's  staff,  and  in  the  duel  Lee 
was  wounded  in  the  side.  He  then  retired  to  his 
estate.  His  sentence  was  almost  completed  when 
he  heard  that  Congress  contemplated  relieving 
him  from  command.  This  angered  him  so  that 
he  wrote  an  insolent  note  to  that  body,  which, 
though  it  made  many  mistakes,  did  not  permit  its 
own  dignity  to  be  assailed.  Congress,  therefore, 
promptly  dismissed  Lee  from  the  service.  He 
lived  on  his  estate  for  some  time.  But  it  was 
sadly  mismanaged,  and  he  made  a  trip  to  Phila- 
delphia to  dispose  of  it.  The  journey  was  too 
much  for  him,  and  he  was  taken  while  there  with 
a  fever,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  died.  He 
was  an  eccentric,  impatient,  ambitious  man.  But 
he  was  honourable,  and  had  no  part  in  the  intrigues 
against  Washington,  being  an  open  and  avowed 
enemy  of  the  latter  rather  than  a  secret  one. 
He  served  the  cause  of  the  country  very  faithfully 
and  was  buried  with  high  military  honours. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

TARDY  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  FRENCH  FLEET — EX- 
PEDITION AGAINST  NEWPORT — THE  FLEETS 
DISPERSED  BY  A  STORM — SULLIVAN'S  DISAP- 
POINTMENT AND  RETREAT — THE  WYOMING 
VALLEY  MASSACRE — MURDER  AND  PILLAGE 
BY  THE  BRITISH 

MATTERS  began  to  look  very  well  now  for  the 
young  United  States.  The  British  had  been 
driven  into  New  York,  and,  beyond  holding  a 
few  seaports,  had  done  little  or  nothing  toward 
the  successful  subjugation  of  the  land  of  our 
birth. 

"  It  is  not  a  little  pleasing,"  wrote  Washington 
from  his  headquarters  at  White  Plains,  "that 
after  two  years'  manoeuvring  and  undergoing  the 
strangest  vicissitudes  that  perhaps  ever  attended 
any  one  contest  since  the  creation,  both  armies 
are  brought  back  to  the  very  point  they  set  out 
from  ;  and  that  the  offending  army  at  the  begin- 
ning is  now  reduced  to  the  use  of  the  spade  and 
pick-axe  for  defence.  The  hand  of  Providence 
has  been  so  conspicuous  in  all  this,  that  he  need 
be  worse  than  an  infidel  that  lacks  faith,  and  more 
than  wicked  that  has  not  gratitude  enough  to 

acknowledge  the  obligations." 

235 


236      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

It  is  seldom  that  we  find  Washington  in  so 
satisfied  a  mood.  He  was  one  of  the  class  of 
men  who  seem  to  have  lived  but  to  overcome 
apparently  unsurmountable  obstacles.  The  his- 
tory of  America  has  been  made  by  such  men. 
And  even  then,  at  the  brightest  moment  in  the 
war  since  the  British  had  fled  from  Boston,  a  keen 
disappointment  was  hovering  over  the  land. 

The  French  fleet  arrived — just  too  late  to  cut 
off  the  British  in  their  retreat  to  New  York.  It 
consisted  of  twelve  line  of  battle-ships  and  half 
as  many  frigates,  and  it  brought  Mons.  Gerard, 
the  French  minister  to  the  United  States,  and  a 
land  force  of  four  thousand  men.  It  had  been 
almost  three  months  in  crossing  the  ocean  from 
Toulon,  a  trip  that  would  be  made  to-day  in  but 
little  over  a  week. 

The  tardy  French  commander,  the  Count 
d'Estaing,  sent  a  highly  flattering  message  to 
Washington  and  started  the  French  minister  off 
to  Philadelphia.  He  then  proceeded  north  along 
the  coast,  only  to  find  the  British  fleet,  under 
Lord  Howe,  safely  anchored  inside  of  Sandy 
Hook.  Here  the  Count  determined  to  fight  the 
British  fleet,  to  which  his  own  force  was  superior, 
and  Washington  was  to  co-operate  against  New 
York  with  his  army.  Both  the  French  and 
Americans  were  exultant,  while  the  English  had 
the  mortification  of  seeing,  for  the  first  time,  an 
English  fleet  blocked  up  in  its  own  harbour.  But 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      237 

when  the  American  pilots  went  aboard  the  great 
French  battle-ships  they  found  that  the  largest 
ones  drew  too  much  water  to  pass  over  the  bar. 
The  cup  of  joy  that  D'Estaing  was  raising  to 
Washington's  lips  was  dashed  to  the  ground. 

The  French  fleet  now  undertook  the  capture  of 
Newport,  Rhode  Island.  General  Sullivan  com- 
manded the  American  forces  at  Providence,  and 
he  was  ordered  by  Washington  to  co-operate. 
The  latter  also  reinforced  Sullivan  with  two  bri- 
gades under  the  Marquis  Lafayette.  General 
Greene  was  also  sent  to  help  Sullivan,  as  he  was 
a  native  of  the  island  upon  which  Newport  is 
situated  and  had  great  influence  with  the  people. 

General  Pigott  commanded  the  British  force  of 
about  six  thousand  men  on  the  island.  His  main 
defence  was  a  line  of  intrenchments  across  it, 
about  three  miles  from  the  town.  The  French 
fleet  was  to  force  its  way  into  the  harbour  and  the 
Americans  to  approach  simultaneously  by  land. 
On  the  loth  of  August  the  troops  were  to  land 
from  the  ships  and  the  Americans  to  cross  to  the 
island.  The  French  commander  was  a  stickler 
for  precedence.  At  the  approach  of  the  allies, 
the  British  evacuated  their  intrenchments  in  front 
of  Sullivan,  in  fear  of  being  cut  off.  Sullivan, 
seeing  the  works  abandoned,  naturally  enough 
crossed  on  the  Qth  to  take  possession  of  them. 
Sullivan's  proceeding  a  day  ahead  of  the  ap- 
pointed time  offended  D'Estaing,  who  had  strict 


238      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

notions  of  the  proprieties.  He  made  ready  to 
co-operate,  eventually.  But  before  he  commenced 
operations  his  lookouts  discovered  the  English 
fleet,  under  Lord  Howe,  sailing  in  to  the  rescue 
of  the  town.  They  were  still  inferior  to  the 
French  fleet  in  numbers.  Nevertheless,  they  had 
been  reinforced  and  gallantly  went  to  the  assist- 
ance of  their  comrades  at  Newport. 

Had  Lord  Howe  been  as  prompt  as  he  was 
gallant  he  would,  with  little  doubt,  have  de- 
stroyed or  captured  the  French  fleet  ;  as  the  wind 
was  greatly  in  his  favour  and  dead  against  the 
French  fleet.  This  was  a  matter  of  the  greatest 
importance  in  the  days  of  sailing  vessels.  The 
English  ships  would  have  been  able  to  manoeuvre 
without  difficulty,  while  the  French  ships  could 
only  have  been  handled  at  all  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  and  would  have  been  exposed  to  the 
fire  of  the  land  batteries.  The  British  anchored, 
however,  outside  the  harbour  during  the  night, 
and  D'Estaing  at  once  took  advantage  of  the 
Briton's  blunder  to  sail  out  of  the  harbour.  The 
British  ships  now  formed  in  line  of  battle,  but 
avoided  a  conflict  in  their  turn.  The  wind  had 
changed,  and  the  French  now  had  the  advantage. 
Both  fleets  now  manoeuvred,  the  British  to  avoid 
a  fight  until  they  had  the  weather-gage,  the 
French  to  force  a  fight  while  they  still  retained 
it.  And  as  they  manoeuvred  they  gradually 
drew  away  from  the  Rhode  Island  shore  until 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      239 

they  were  lost  to  sight.  And  before  the  actual 
contest  began  a  great  storm  scattered  the  ships 
of  both  fleets  and  disabled  them.  When  it  sub- 
sided, the  English  bore  away  to  New  York  for 
repairs,  and  the  French  returned  to  Newport,  but 
in  no  condition  to  fight. 

While  these  events  were  happening  in  the  East, 
the  British  in  the  West  were  inciting  the  Indians 
against  the  Americans.  There  was  a  British  garri- 
son at  Niagara,  and  in  that  noted  spot  most  of  the 
trouble  arose.  Brant,  the  Indian  murderer,  had 
fled  there  after  he  and  his  English  allies  had  been 
driven  from  Fort  Schuyler ;  and  there  he  and  a 
number  of  Tories  projected  the  savage  invasion 
of  the  peaceful  Wyoming  Valley,  along  the  Sus- 
quehanna  river. 

This  expedition  was  started  in  June,  being  com- 
posed of  Colonel  John  Butler's  Rangers,  John- 
son's Royal  Greens  and  Brant  and  his  Indian 
braves.  They  murdered  and  destroyed  as  they 
advanced,  for  a  time  unchecked.  Washington 
had  started  reinforcements  to  the  defence  of  the 
Valley  ;  but  the  farmers  had  already  united  for 
protection  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Zebulon 
Butler.  The  patriot  Butler  with  more  zeal  than 
wisdom  determined  to  push  on  and  attack  the 
marauding  Butler  at  his  headquarters  at  Fort 
Wintermoot,  without  waiting  for  the  reinforce- 
ments. In  consequence  he  was  terribly  defeated 
there  and  the  greater  part  of  his  force  massacred 


24o      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

by  the  Indians  and  Tories.  That  settled  the  fate 
of  the  Valley.  It  was  then  defenceless.  Farms 
were  laid  waste,  the  houses  and  barns  burned,  and 
their  owners  murdered.  The  remaining  inhabit- 
ants of  the  fertile  tract,  some  five  thousand  in 
number,  were  driven  in  consternation  to  neigh- 
bouring settlements  more  capable  of  defence. 
Many  of  the  Tory  marauders  had  been  neighbours 
and  often  close  kinsmen  of  the  unhappy  sufferers, 
and  the  relationship  instead  of  inciting  them  to 
pity  merely  led  them  to  more  horrible  atrocities. 
The  whole  affair  was  one  of  the  most  barbarous 
outrages  that  ever  sullied  the  pages  of  English 
history. 

In  the  meantime  the  British  in  New  York  were 
performing  similar  feats  whenever  the  opportunity 
came  to  them.  The  same  General  Grey  who  was 
sent  by  Clinton  against  the  Connecticut  ports 
surprised  a  body  of  dragoons  under  Colonel  Bay- 
lor in  Old  Tappan.  The  dragoons  were  asleep  in 
a  barn,  and  Grey  slaughtered  them  while  they 
were  naked  and  defenceless  and  crying  for  mercy. 
A  few  were  taken  prisoners  by  virtue  of  the  en- 
treaties of  a  British  officer  who  seems  to  have  been 
built  too  delicately  for  cold-blooded  murder.  The 
majority,  however,  were  bayoneted,  some  re- 
ceiving as  many  as  sixteen  bayonet  thrusts. 

About  the  same  time  three  hundred  regular 
British  troops,  under  the  lead  of  another  blood- 
letter,  by  the  name  of  Ferguson  (a  captain) 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      241 

sacked  and  burned  Little  Egg  Harbor.  They 
went  after  privateers  which  they  did  not  get.  So 
they  burnt  the  salt  works,  storehouses  and  private 
dwellings  of  the  people.  Before  he  returned  Cap- 
tain Ferguson  had  another  opportunity  to  distin- 
guish himself  in  his  peculiar  way.  He  learned  of 
a  small  body  of  American  infantry  lying  but 
twelve  miles  distant  from  him.  He  attacked  them 
in  the  night  with  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
men.  He  took  five  prisoners.  That  is  to  say,  he 
slew  the  rest  as  they  wakened  from  their  sleep. 
As  a  pirate  or  a  slave  trader  Captain  Ferguson 
would  have  been  a  towering  success.  But  as  a 
soldier  under  a  soldier's  flag  he  is  a  lasting  shame 
to  the  English  people. 

We  may  have  more  respect  for  the  Hessians 
under  Donop  who  laid  waste  the  country  between 
Tarrytown  and  Dobb's  Ferry  on  the  Hudson. 
They  at  any  rate  were  not  making  war  on  their 
own  flesh  and  blood.  Throughout  the  British  oc- 
cupation of  New  York  and  its  vicinity  the  Hessian 
hirelings  of  all  breeds  added  every  horror  they 
could  to  the  evils  of  war.  But  they  were,  like  the 
Indians,  less  morally  guilty  than  the  English  who 
hired  them.  We  can  feel  especially  sympathetic 
with  these  Hessians  of  Donop's  command  as  Colo- 
nel Richard  Butler  and  Major  Henry  Lee  took 
them  by  surprise  soon  after.  The  Americans 
killed  but  ten  however,  which  is  no  unusual  pro- 
portion. 
16 


242      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Throughout  the  remainder  of  the  war  these 
dastardly  acts  of  the  British  were  continued,  and 
their  only  real  successes,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
were  in  pillage  of  the  peaceful  and  the  murder  of 
the  defenceless.  And  the  English  government 
invariably  rewarded  the  pillagers  and  murderers. 
Colonel  Grey,  for  instance,  was  made  Lord  How- 
ick  and  eventually  Earl  Grey  for  his  wholesale 
murders.  But  if  anything  were  needed  to  make 
the  Americans  more  determined  to  secure  their 
independence,  these  acts  would  have  accomplished 
the  purpose  better  than  any  others.  They  effect- 
ually sundered  every  tie  of  affection  for  England 
that  might  have  remained  in  the  hearts  of  Amer- 
icans and  made  eventual  independence  a  necessity. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  BRITISH  IN  FLORIDA  AND  GEORGIA — STORM- 
ING  OF  STONY  POINT — SULLIVAN'S  EXPEDI- 
TION AGAINST  THE  WYOMING  VALLEY  MUR- 
DERERS—  FURTHER  MARAUDS  —  SIEGE  AND 
SURRENDER  OF  CHARLESTON — MARAUDS  OF 
TARLETON  AND  FERGUSON 

AT  the  very  end  of  the  year  1778  the  English 
succeeded  without  much  difficulty  in  capturing 
Savannah  and  overrunning  Georgia.  They  had 
failed  to  conquer  New  England.  They  had  been 
driven  from  the  Middle  States.  They  were  now 
to  attempt  the  subjugation  of  the  South,  and  at 
first  they  succeeded  very  well.  The  southern 
colonists  had  not  yet  been  roused  to  great  exer- 
tions in  order  to  save  their  homes,  and  the  main 
army  had  been  concentrated  under  Washington 
in  the  North  and  must  of  necessity  remain  there. 
Florida  fell  with  Georgia,  and  the  British  there- 
upon turned  toward  South  Carolina.  General 
Lincoln  was  therefore  hurried  from  the  North  to 
Charleston  to  put  it  in  a  state  of  defence. 

Washington  and  his  army  wintered  in  New 
Jersey,  watching  the  British  in  New  York,  and  in 
1779  little  was  accomplished  in  the  northern 

243 


244      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

army  on  either  side.  In  the  middle  of  July, 
General  "  Mad  Anthony  "  Wayne  stormed  Stony 
Point  on  the  Hudson  and  took  it  at  the  point  of 
the  bayonet.  It  was  a  night  attack,  such  as  the 
British  were  fond  of  making;  but  even  the  Brit- 
ish had  to  acknowledge  that  not  one  man  was  put 
to  death  save  in  "  fair  combat."  The  American 
loss  was  fifteen  killed  and  eighty-three  wounded. 
The  British  lost  sixty-three  killed,  while  five 
hundred  and  fifty-three  were  taken  prisoners.  A 
friendly  negro  guided  the  advance  picket  of  the 
Americans  to  the  English  sentinels.  Two  of 
these  were  captured  without  the  firing  of  a  shot. 
The  Americans,  therefore,  managed  to  get  to  the 
very  outworks  of  the  fort  without  giving  cause 
for  alarm.  The  attack  was  made  in  two  columns 
each  preceded  by  between  a  hundred  and  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men.  One  of  these  advance  columns 
was  commanded  by  Colonel  Fleury,  the  other  by 
Major  Stewart.  These  formed  two  vanguards  on 
either  side  of  the  fort  for  the  main  body  of  the 
troops,  which  charged  in  after  them.  Each  van- 
guard was  preceded  by  a  forlorn  hope  of  ten  men, 
and  these  forlorn  hopes  lost  the  greater  number 
of  the  American  killed.  Wayne  himself  was 
wounded  at  the  head  of  his  troops. 

Washington  found  that  the  fort  would  require 
too  large  a  garrison  to  be  held  to  advantage,  and 
it  was  consequently  evacuated  three  days  after  its 
capture.  It  was  the  most  brilliant  surprise  of  the 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      245 

war,  however,  and  one  of  the  most  successful  in 
history. 

A  little  later  during  the  summer,  General  Sul- 
livan led  an  expedition  of  three  thousand  men, 
against  the  Indians  and  Tories  who  had  laid 
waste  the  Wyoming  Valley.  They  were  rein- 
forced by  two  thousand  New-Yorkers  under 
General  James  Clinton.  At  Newton,  Butler, 
Johnson  and  the  Indian  Brant  opposed  Sullivan's 
army  but  were  easily  beaten,  This  was  late  in 
August.  Sullivan  then  pushed  on  destroying  the 
Indian  country,  orchards,  fields  of  corn,  gardens, 
houses,  in  fact  everything  that  was  of  value  to 
them.  The  Indians  fled  with  their  families  to 
the  protection  of  the  British  at  Fort  Niagara. 
To  look  at  it  to-day,  it  seems  like  a  rather  heart- 
less procedure,  but  it  was  necessary  to  starve  the 
Indians  out  of  the  country  to  prevent  a  repetition 
of  the  Wyoming  massacre.  This  was  Sullivan's 
last  achievement,  as  ill-health  soon  compelled  him 
to  retire  from  the  army. 

The  British  during  this  year  accomplished  but 
little  in  the  North,  though  they  had  in  New  York 
city  an  army  superior  to  Washington's.  They 
had  campaigned  against  him  in  the  Jerseys  to 
their  heart's  content  and  wanted  no  more  of  it. 
Nearly  all  they  accomplished  was  in  the  maraud- 
ing line.  In  May,  General  Mathews  ravaged  a 
part  of  Virginia,  burning  or  destroying  everything 
that  fell  into  his  hands. 


246      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

In  July,  Clinton  sent  General  Tryon  (the  former 
Tory  Governor  of  New  York),  with  a  force  of 
twenty-five  hundred  men  to  ravage  Connecticut. 
Tryon  landed  with  his  force  near  New  Haven 
and  promptly  took  and  plundered  that  town. 
From  there  he  went  to  Fairfield.  Here  he  des- 
troyed everything  of  value,  including  the  vessels 
in  the  harbour,  and  burned  the  town  to  the  ground. 
At  Norwalk  his  acts  were  not  quite  so  atrocious. 
That  is  to  say  some  private  property  was  spared. 
In  addition  to  the  destruction  at  these  places  his 
soldiers  indulged  in  all  the  kinds  of  disorder  known 
to  soldiers.  Tryon  was  about  to  turn  his  atten- 
tion to  New  London,  when  Washington's  activity 
gave  alarm  to  Clinton,  and  the  expedition  was 
recalled. 

Then  Major  Henry  Lee  of  Virginia  took  a  hand 
at  retaliation  of  a  legitimate  kind,  by  descending 
upon  Paulus  Hook  and  capturing  part  of  the 
British  garrison  and  bringing  them  off.  In  other 
places,  however,  the  Americans  were  unsuccess- 
ful. General  Lovel  failed  completely  in  an 
attempt  to  capture  a  British  fort  at  a  point  on 
the  Bay  of  Penobscot,  which  had  been  established 
to  hold  the  Maine  forests  for  the  king.  And 
Lincoln  and  D'Estaing  failed  to  recapture  Savan- 
nah, late  in  the  autumn.  After  three  weeks  of 
fruitless  siege  operations  at  the  latter  place,  Lin- 
coln and  D'Estaing  put  themselves  at  the  head  of 
their  respective  bodies  and  tried  to  take  the  place 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      247 

by  assault.  They  were  repulsed  with  great  loss. 
D'Estaing  was  wounded,  and  Count  Pulaski  was 
killed.  Sergeant  Jasper,  the  hero  of  Fort  Moul- 
trie,  also  lost  his  life  there. 

Lincoln  now  retreated  into  the  Carolinas. 
Washington  went  into  winter  quarters  at  Morris- 
town.  And  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  accompanied  by 
Lord  Cornwallis,  set  sail  the  day  after  Christmas 
for  the  capture  of  Charleston  and  the  subjugation 
of  the  Carolinas.  He  left  the  Hessian  General 
Knyphausen  in  command  at  New  York.  The 
latter  distinguished  himself  by  continuing  the 
policy  of  Clinton  as  to  raiding  and  marauding. 
At  Elizabethtown  a  church  was  burned  in  which 
a  patriot  preacher  of  great  eloquence  had  offici- 
ated. The  Rev.  James  Caldwell  was  the  preacher. 
He  was  with  the  army  and  was  an  object  of  par- 
ticular hatred  to  the  Royalists.  They  regretted 
that  he  was  not  in  the  pulpit  when  the  church  was 
burning,  and  they  took  other  measures  of  an  even 
more  painful  character  later  to  wreak  their  hatred 
on  him.  Another  of  Knyphausen's  expeditions 
was  made  against  Young's  House,  a  fortified 
American  outpost  near  White  Plains.  Here  the 
usual  massacre  took  place,  although  about  ninety 
prisoners  were  taken,  to  suffer  in  the  prison  ships 
in  the  harbor  of  New  York. 

About  the  same  time  (the  latter  part  of  Janu- 
ary) Clinton  neared  Charleston,  S.C.,  after  a 
tempestuous  and  lengthy  voyage.  He  had  lost 


248      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

the  cavalry  horses  of  his  dragoons,  but  their  com- 
mander soon  mounted  them  again.  This  com- 
mander was  the  famous,  or  rather  infamous, 
Tarleton,  who  was  to  prove  such  a  terror  to  the 
Southern  States.  He  was  a  fit  associate  of  Grey, 
Tryon  and  the  rest  of  the  British  raiders.  When 
he  had  remounted  his  dragoons  with  horses  taken 
by  force  from  friends  and  enemies  alike,  Clinton 
proceeded  by  easy  stages  to  Charleston,  having 
landed  at  St.  John's  Island. 

THE  SIEGE  OF  CHARLESTON. 

Lincoln,  after  the  retreat  from  Savannah,  had 
proceeded  to  Charleston  and  had  taken  command 
there.  As  Clinton  approached  he  bent  his  ener- 
gies to  fortifying  the  city.  Lincoln  preferred  to 
remain  with  his  small  army  in  the  open  country  ; 
but  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  especially  of  Governor  Rutledge,  he  finally 
consented  to  remain  and  defend  the  town,  al- 
though the  prospect  of  its  capture,  and  with  it 
his  army,  was  far  from  remote.  Rutledge,  on  his 
part,  called  out  the  militia  of  the  State,  and  rein- 
forcements were  expected  from  the  North.  Lin- 
coln was  disappointed  by  both.  He  was  to  be 
still  further  disappointed.  Commodore  Whipple, 
who  commanded  the  few  vessels  of  the  young 
American  navy  stationed  at  Charleston,  found 
that  he  had  not  been  correctly  informed  as  to  the 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      249 

depth  of  water  in  the  harbor,  and  would -mot  be 
able  to  defend  the  passage  of  the  English  ships 
under  Admiral  Arbuthnot.  This  laid  the  water 
front  open,  with  protection  only  from  Fort 
Moultrie  and  Whipple's  ships  anchored  alongside 
of  it. 

On  the  1 2th  of  March  Clinton  appeared  before 
Charleston  and  commenced  the  siege,  though  the 
investment  was  not  completed  for  some  time. 
Lincoln  could,  therefore,  have  escaped  even  after 
the  discovery  of  the  weakness  on  the  water  side. 
It  was  Washington's  opinion,  too,  that  he  should 
have  evacuated  the  city.  But  he  bravely  re- 
mained at  his  post  to  make  the  best  defence  he 
could.  Washington  ordered  De  Kalb  with  the 
Maryland  troops  to  the  aid  of  Lincoln,  but  it  was 
hardly  considered  possible  that  he  would  arrive  in 
time.  On  the  other  hand,  Clinton  was  promptly 
reinforced  by  sea  by  Lord  Rawdon  with  twenty- 
five  hundred  fresh  troops  from  New  York.  Still 
further  troops  came  to  the  British  commander 
from  Savannah,  though  not  without  some  brushes 
with  the  militia.  And  here  began  the  operations 
of  the  celebrated  partisan  bands  under  Colonels 
Washington,  Marion  and  Sumter  that  make  a 
large  part  of  the  history  of  the  American  army  in 
the  Carolinas.  In  fact  Colonel  Washington  soon 
had  an  encounter  with  Tarleton  that  was  partially 
successful. 

But  Charleston  was  doomed.     The  enlistments 


250      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

of  manjrof  the  militia  in  Lincoln's  army  expired, 
and  the  militiamen  went  to  their  homes.  On  the 
7th  of  April,  however,  Lincoln  was  reinforced  by 
some  seven  hundred  Virginians  under  General 
Woodford.  With  the  reinforcements,  Lincoln's 
little  army  numbered  about  four  thousand. 

The  English  Admiral  had  little  difficulty  in 
passing  Fort  Moultrie,  and  the  garrison  evacuated 
it.  The  British  lines  closed  about  the  town.  Be- 
fore they  did  so,  Governor  Rutledge  and  half  of 
the  executive  council  of  the  state  left  the  city  in 
an  effort  to  rouse  the  people  of  the  state  to  come 
to  the  city's  relief.  They  failed  in  their  mission, 
however,  and  the  investment  was  soon  thereafter 
completed.  On  the  I2th  of  May  the  city  of 
Charleston  surrendered. 

During  the  siege  Tarleton  with  his  dragoons 
and  Major  Ferguson  with  his  riflemen  made  a 
forced  march  to  Monk's  Corner  and  surprised  the 
patriot  General  Huger's  camp  there,  killing  or 
capturing  nearly  the  entire  force.  Major  Fer- 
guson seems  to  have  been  of  a  finer  character 
than  most  of  his  associates.  At  Monk's  Corner 
a  number  of  dragoons  broke  into  a  dwelling  and 
maltreated  some  ladies  who  had  sought  shelter 
there.  If  Ferguson  had  had  his  way  he  would 
have  put  the  dragoons  to  death.  His  superior, 
Colonel  Webster,  arrived,  however,  and  the  dra- 
goons escaped  with  a  whipping. 

Clinton    now  considered  South    Carolina   sub- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      251 

jugated  and  prepared  to  leave,  personally,  for 
New  York.  He  projected  several  expeditions  into 
the  interior,  though,  before  he  went.  The  most 
important  of  these  was  headed  by  Cornwallis,  and 
with  it  went  Tarleton.  It  had  for  its  object  a 
corps  of  Virginia  troops  under  Colonel  Buford 
which  had  been  advancing  to  reinforce  Lincoln, 
but  which  was  now  retreating.  Tarleton,  with 
Cornwallis'  advance,  overtook  Buford  on  the  banks 
of  the  Waxhaw.  The  attack  was  a  surprise,  and 
the  usual  massacre  followed.  One  hundred  and 
thirteen  were  killed  on  the  spot  and  a  greater 
number  so  mangled  that  they  could  not  be  moved. 
This  after  they  had  thrown  down  their  arms  and 
cried  for  quarter.  But  fifty  prisoners  colild  be 
carried  away  from  the  scene  of  the  butchery. 
There  was  no  excuse  for  such  slaughter.  There 
were  but  five  killed  and  fifteen  wounded  on  the 
English  side.  For  this  heartless  blood-letting 
Cornwallis  recommended  Tarleton  to  the  king  for 
high  honours.  We  do  not  learn,  however,  that  he 
was  made  an  Earl. 


CHAPTER   XXI 

ARNOLD'S    DIFFICULTIES — HIS     MARRIAGE — IN- 
VESTIGATED BY  A  COMMITTEE  OF  CONGRESS — 

COURT-MARTIALLED — HIS  TREASONABLE  COR- 
RESPONDENCE WITH  CLINTON — ARNOLD  AND 
ANDRE' — CAPTURE  OF  ANDRE*  AND  FLIGHT  OF 
ARNOLD — EXECUTION  OF  ANDRE* — STORY  OF 
NATHAN  HALE 

WE  must  now  take  notice  of  a  man  to  whose 
personal  bravery  we  have  often  referred,  but  who 
proved  to  be  merely  a  fighting  animal  with  a  very 
low  grade  of  moral  or  spiritual  being.  If  warfare 
brought  out  nothing  but  the  good  in  man  there 
would  be  more  excuse  for  it  than  there  is.  But 
the  worst  of  warfare,  Boy,  is  the  fact  that  it  brings 
out  too  much  of  what  appears  to  be  good  in  bad 
men.  Common  brute  lust  for  fighting  masquer- 
ades as  bravery,  insensibility  to  danger  as  courage, 
and  what  is  worse  selfish  ambition  as  patriotism. 
Some  men  who  have  most  deeply  cursed  their 
country  in  all  times  have  hewed  their  way  to 
power  sword  in  hand.  Now  and  then  there  is  an 
exception.  Washington  and  Grant  were  such. 
But  the  world  is  still  supplied  with  would-be 

Napoleons  and  with  people  only  too  ready  to 
252 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       253 

acclaim  them  rulers.  For  one  Washington  in 
warfare  there  are  a  hundred  Tarletons  or  Greys, 
and  there  is  also  a  plentiful  supply  of  Benedict 
Arnolds. 

In  1778  Arnold,  still  suffering  from  the  wound 
he  had  received  at  Bemis  Heights,  was  placed  in 
command  of  Philadelphia.  He  still  had  the 
sincere  regard  of  Washington ;  but  he  was  in 
trouble  with  Congress,  owing  to  the  fact  that  his 
accounts  had  not  yet  been  settled.  Some  of  his 
items  of  expenditure  had  been  considered  exorbi- 
tant by  the  committee,  and  he  was  suspected  of 
an  ambition  to  become  wealthy  by  any  means 
that  lay  in  his  power.  Under  these  circumstances 
it  was  a  very  unfortunate  thing  for  Arnold  that 
he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  city  where  Con- 
gress was  holding  its  sittings,  and  which  was  the 
seat  of  government.  There  had  always  been  con- 
tinual clashing  between  the  army  and  the  civil 
government.  And  Arnold,  being  already  at  odds 
with  Congress,  could  hardly  have  been  expected 
to  get  along  well  in  such  a  position.  He  lived 
very  expensively,  kept  running  into  debt  and  was 
accused  of  fraudulently  using  the  power  of  his 
position  to  obtain  money  to  meet  his  obligations. 
All  roads  lead  to  ruin  when  a  man  has  once 
started  in  that  direction.  He  had  not  been  long 
in  Philadelphia  before  he  began  courting  a  beauti- 
ful young  lady,  Miss  Margaret  Shippen.  Under 
ordinary  circumstances  a  love-affair  might  have 


254          HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

made  him  popular.  But,  unfortunately,  the 
young  lady's  family  was  suspected  of  Tory  pro- 
clivities. She  herself  had  been  a  favourite  with 
the  British  officers  when  they  had  occupied  the 
city  ;  and  she  had  even  been  one  of  the  characters 
in  the  celebrated  Mischianza. 

One  thing  led  to  another,  until  charges  were 
preferred  against  Arnold  and  sent  to  Congress. 
A  committee  investigated  the  charges  and  reported 
to  Congress,  exculpating  him.  Arnold  thought 
his  name  cleared,  resigned  his  command  at  Phila- 
delphia and  hastened  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ship- 
pen.  But  Congress,  instead  of  adopting  the  report 
of  the  committee,  asked  Washington  to  refer  the 
charges  to  a  court-martial.  Arnold's  disappoint- 
ment and  anger  at  this  proceeding  can  be  imagined. 
He  still  suffered  in  heart  from  the  belief  that  Con- 
gress had  not  done  him  full  justice  in  the  matter 
of  promotion,  and  he  now  had  a  further  cause  of 
complaint. 

The  eight  charges  were  reduced  to  two,  and  on 
the  1 2th  of  February,  1780,  the  court-martial 
found  that  while  he  had  been  guilty  of  no  fraud- 
ulent act,  his  proceedings  had  been  "  irregular, 
and  contrary  to  one  of  the  articles  of  war."  He 
was  sentenced  to  be  reprimanded  by  the  com- 
mander-in-chief.  The  reprimand  was  as  gentle 
and  kindly  as  Washington  could  compose.  But 
Arnold  was  stung  to  the  quick.  He  was  still 
heavily  in  debt ;  his  accounts  were  still  unsettled  ; 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      255 

he  needed  the  money  he  claimed  to  be  due  him 
to  pay  the  debts;  and  he  had  just  been  married. 
He  was  also  disappointed  at  not  being  permitted 
to  make  an  expedition  at  sea,  which  he  claimed 
he  could  carry  through,  though  his  wounds  still 
prevented  him  from  active  duty  on  land.  He 
eventually  obtained  a  leave  of  absence  for  the 
summer. 

From  the  time  that  the  court-martial  found 
him  guilty  in  part  of  the  charges  preferred  against 
him,  Arnold  is  known  to  have  begun  to  plot  trea- 
son against  his  country.  Whether  he  had  begun 
before  or  not  is  still  a  matter  of  doubt,  though  it 
is  known  that  Major  John  Andr£,  the  adjutant- 
general  of  the  British  Army,  had  corresponded 
before  this  with  Arnold's  young  wife. 

He  began  by  writing  letters  to  Sir  Henry  Clin- 
ton in  a  disguised  hand  and  over  the  signature  of 
Gustavus.  He  claimed  to  be  a  man  of  impor- 
tance in  the  American  army,  and  said  he  was  dissat- 
isfied with  recent  proceedings  of  Congress,  espe- 
cially with  regard  to  the  treaty  with  France. 
To  prove  that  he  was  what  he  claimed  to  be, 
he  occasionally  gave  Clinton  certain  informa- 
tion regarding  the  movements  of  the  Amer- 
ican troops,  which,  of  course,  proved  to  be  true. 
He  let  Clinton  understand  that  he  would  be  will- 
ing to  betray  his  country  if  the  English  govern- 
ment would  pay  a  sufficient  consideration.  And 
he  wanted  considerably  more  than  the  sum  paid 


256       HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

to  Judas.  On  the  part  of  Clinton  the  correspond- 
ence was  conducted  by  his  adjutant-general,  the 
same  John  Andr£. 

When  Clinton  eventually  learned  who  his  cor- 
respondent  was,  he  hardly  deemed  it  worth  while 
to  buy  Arnold's  treason.  He  could  then  obtain 
nothing  but  the  traitor's  services,  and  they  were 
worth  little  indeed  to  the  British  commander. 
It  became  necessary,  therefore,  for  Arnold  to  ob- 
tain command  of  some  place  of  importance  that 
the  British  wanted  and  would  pay  liberally  for. 
This  place  was  eventually  decided  to  be  the  forti- 
fications at  West  Point,  on  the  Hudson,  which 
had  so  long  been  an  object  of  anxiety  to  Wash- 
ington. 

Arnold  obtained  the  command  he  coveted  in 
August,  and  made  his  headquarters  at  Beverley, 
below  the  fort,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river.  This  was  the  country  seat  of  Colonel  Bever- 
ley Robinson,  a  Tory  then  with  the  British  and  in 
their  service  in  New  York.  Here  the  scheme  was 
hatched.  Washington  and  the  allied  French  were 
to  be  drawn  away  from  West  Point ;  a  flotilla 
was  to  ascend  the  Hudson,  carrying  a  large  land 
force;  and  Arnold  was  to  surrender  the  High- 
lands with  little  or  no  opposition,  on  the  pretence 
of  having  an  insufficient  force  to  make  a  success- 
ful resistance.  It  was  expected  that  this  would 
dismember  the  Union  and  break  the  whole  Amer- 
ican military  plan. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      257 

To 'consummate  the  bargain  Andr£  finally  went 
up  the  Hudson  to  a  point  where  the  British  sloop 
of  war  Vu/furewas  anchored,  and  proceeded  thence 
to  meet  Arnold  on  land.  It  was  ostensibly  to 
be  his  mission  to  negotiate  for  the  security  of 
Colonel  Beverley  Robinson's  property.  The  two 
conspirators  met  about  six  miles  below  Stony 
Point,  on  the  western  shore  of  the  river.  It  was 
midnight  when  they  met,  and  at  early  dawn  the 
proceedings  had  not  been  completed.  Arnold, 
therefore,  prevailed  upon  Andr6  to  remain  on 
shore  another  day.  Accordingly  they  repaired  to 
a  farmhouse,  where,  after  breakfast,  the  plans 
were  finally  agreed  upon  and  the  price  settled 
which  Arnold  was  to  receive  for  his  treachery. 
But  Andr£  was  now  within  the  American  lines. 
The  first  interview  had  been  on  territory  without 
both  lines. 

From  the  moment  the  miserable  compact  was 
sealed  Andr£  was  unfortunate.  Arnold  furnished 
him  with  plans  of  the  fortifications  which  were 
placed  in  Andrews  stockings.  He  also  gave  Andre 
a  pass  to  enable  him  to  go  through  the  American 
lines.  In  the  meantime  the  Vulture  had  been 
fired  upon  by  cannon  from  the  banks  and  com- 
pelled to  drop  down  the  river.  Arnold  went  back 
to  his  headquarters  about  ten  o'clock,  and  poor 
Andr6  had  to  remain  in  the  farmhouse  the  re- 
mainder of  the  day,  already  wondering  whether 
he  would  be  able  to  regain  the  Vulture  with 
'7 


258      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

safety.  He  had  risked  a  great  deal,  but  he  ex- 
pected to  be  made  a  brigadier-general  in  the 
British  army  if  he  succeeded  in  his  enterprise. 
But  he  risked  more  than  he  thought,  for  it  had 
not  yet  occurred  to  him  that  he  was  within  the 
American  lines,  practically  in  disguise  and  there- 
fore a  spy.  And  he  proceeded  to  make  his  posi- 
tion still  worse  by  removing  all  that  remained  of 
his  uniform  and  putting  on  the  garb  of  a  farmer. 
About  sunset  he  and  a  guide  crossed  the  river  to 
Verplanck's  Point  and  proceeded  in  the  direction 
of  White  Plains.  They  managed  to  pass  through 
one  patrol  by  the  use  of  Arnold's  authority,  but 
were  warned  of  the  danger  of  proceeding  far  into 
the  neutral  territory  between  the  two  armies,  as 
they  were  overrun  by  marauders  of  every  descrip- 
tion. They  therefore  put  up  at  a  farmhouse  for 
the  remainder  of  the  night.  In  the  early  morn- 
ing they  proceeded  on  their  journey.  About  two 
miles  from  the  Croton  River  the  guide  turned  back, 
and  Andr6  went  on  alone.  Six  miles  further  on 
he  came  to  a  fork  in  the  roads.  He  had  intended 
to  take  the  left-hand  road  toward  White  Plains 
but  finally  decided  to  take  the  other  toward  the 
Hudson,  which  was  a  more  direct  route  to  New 
York.  Here  he  made  another  mistake.  A  few 
minutes  later  a  man  stepped  out  from  the  trees 
that  lined  the  road  and  stopped  him  with  a  lev- 
elled musket.  But  Andr£  supposed  he  belonged 
to  the  British  side  and  foolishly  announced  that 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      259 

he  was  a  British  officer.  In  the  meantime  the 
first  sentry  was  joined  by  two  others.  They  were 
a  small  picket.  But  they  were  not  of  the  party 
to  which  Andr£  supposed  they  were.  You  will 
remember,  Boy,  that  Young's  House  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood had  been  sacked  and  burned  and  its  de- 
fenders murdered.  That  had  aroused  the  resist- 
ance of  the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the  neu- 
tral ground,  and  they  had  sprung  to  arms  to 
defend  their  homes.  They  turned  out  in  small 
parties  to  intercept  straggling  British  soldiers. 
One  small  party  of  seven  had  divided,  four  taking 
post  at  Sleepy  Hollow,  and  three,  on  this  road  to 
New  York  that  Andre  was  travelling.  And  these 
three  men  were  John  Paulding,  Isaac  Van  Wart 
and  David  Williams.  They  had  captured  a  man, 
too,  of  far  more  importance  than  any  of  the  free- 
booters they  were  looking  for.  And  John  Pauld- 
ing had  escaped  but  four  days  before  from  a  foul 
British  prison  in  New  York.  While  there  his 
uniform  had  been  taken  from  him,  and  he  had 
been  given  some  old  clothes  of  a  refugee.  These 
clothes  had  deceived  Andre.  The  latter  was  as- 
tonished and  dismayed  to  find  that  he  was  in  the 
hands  of  patriots,  but  he  tried  to  pass  the  matter 
off,  declared  that  he  had  but  pretended  to  be  a 
British  officer  in  order  to  pass  what  he  supposed 
were  British  lines,  and  showed  Arnold's  pass. 
This  would  have  saved  him  had  he  not  made  the 
mistake  of  declaring  himself  to  be  a  British  of- 


26o      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

ficer.  But  the  suspicions  of  the  three  men  were 
aroused,  and  they  searched  him.  They  were  about 
to  let  him  go  even  then,  when  Paulding  declared 
that  he  would  not  be  satisfied  until  Andre's  boots 
had  been  searched.  The  British  adjutant-general 
protested.  The  patriots  insisted.  As  a  result 
the  concealed  papers  were  discovered.  Paulding 
glanced  at  them  and,  somewhat  horror-stricken 
himself,  declared  that  Andr6  was  a  spy. 

Andre  now  tried  to  buy  himself  free,  at  last  de- 
claring that  he  would  pay  any  price  that  his  cap- 
tors demanded.  But  Paulding  answered  that  he 
should  not  stir  one  step  though  he  paid  them  ten 
thousand  guineas,  and  the  three  men  set  off  with 
their  unfortunate  prisoner  to  the  nearest  American 
post. 

The  news  of  Andrews  capture  flashed  through 
the  American  army,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  known 
so,  too,  was  the  treason  of  Arnold.  Unfortunately 
the  commander  of  the  post  to  which  Andr6  was 
brought  promptly  notified  Arnold,  and  the  traitor 
made  his  escape. 

Every  intercession  was  made  for  Andr£  to  se- 
cure his  release.  He  was  a  great  favourite  in  the 
English  army  and  a  man  of  fine  education  and 
attainments.  But  he  was  found  guilty  of  being 
a  spy,  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged  and  was  exe- 
cuted on  the  2d  day  of  October.  One  proposi- 
tion alone  would  have  secured  Andre's  release. 
Washington  would  undoubtedly  have  traded  him 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      261 

for  Arnold,  but  British  honour  could  hardly  con- 
sent to  that.  Arnold  joined  the  British  army  and 
remained  in  it,  though  it  is  but  justice  to  the  Eng- 
lish to  say  that  they  despised  him  to  the  day  of 
his  death,  almost  as  deeply  as  his  countrymen 
have  execrated  him.  He  failed  to  deliver  West 
Point  into  the  hands  of  his  countrymen's  enemies, 
the  British  lost  an  able  officer  and  obtained  a  bad 
one.  And  the  fate  of  Andr6  has  at  least  served 
to  bring  into  greater  prominence  (though  not  as 
much  as  it  deserves)  the  bitter  fate  and  patriotic 
services  of  Nathan  Hale. 

Hale  was  a  young  Connecticut  school-teacher, 
a  graduate  of  Yale  college,  who  was  studying  for 
the  ministry.  He  joined  the  army  on  the  news 
of  the  battle  of  Lexington.  "  A  sense  of  duty," 
he  wrote  his  father,  "  urges  me  to  sacrifice  every- 
thing for  my  country."  He  served  with  Wash- 
ington before  Boston,  became  a  captain  in  the 
Connecticut  militia  and,  when  Washington  needed 
the  services  of  a  person  competent  to  enter  the 
British  lines  and  secure  information  of  the  enemy's 
movements,  Hale  volunteered.  He  had  secured 
his  information  and  made  plans  of  the  enemy's 
works,  and  was  returning  to  meet  a  boat  which 
was  to  take  him  to  the  mainland  when  he  fell  a 
victim  to  a  mistake  not  unlike  Andrews.  He  mis- 
took a  boat  from  a  British  man-of-war  for  the 
boat  that  had  been  sent  to  convey  him,  was  ar- 
rested, tried  and  hanged.  His  treatment  at  the 


262       HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

hands  of  his  British  captors  was  totally  unlike 
that  which  Andr£  received.  The  latter  was 
treated  with  the  greatest  consideration  and  excited 
the  pity  of  the  whole  American  army.  But  Hale 
was  treated  with  great  brutality,  refused  the  con- 
solation of  a  Bible,  and  the  letter  which  he  wrote 
as  a  last  word  to  his  mother  was  destroyed  by  the 
infamous  provost  marshal  in  order  "  that  the  rebels 
should  never  know  that  they  had  a  man  who  could 
die  with  such  firmness."  Hale's  dying  words 
were,  "  I  only  regret  that  I  have  but  one  life  to 
lose  for  my  country."  For  many  years  the  fate 
of  Andr£  excited  more  sympathy  in  American 
breasts  than  the  fate  of  the  brave  Hale.  But  Time 
has  changed  all  that.  To-day  we  realise  that 
Andr6,  after  all,  was  engaged  in  a  dastardly  en- 
terprise, and  well  deserved  the  fate  that  was  meted 
out  to  him. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

KNYPHAUSEN'S  INVASION  OF  NEW  JERSEY — 
THE  MURDER  OF  MRS.  CALDWELL — KNY- 
PHAUSEN'S  SECOND  ATTEMPT — GATES  AP- 
POINTED TO  COMMAND  THE  SOUTHERN 
ARMY — SUMTER  AND  MARION — THE  BATTLE 
OF  CAMDEN. 

WASHINGTON  learned  of  the  loss  of  Charleston 
and  the  return  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton  to  New  York 
at  about  the  same  time  (June  1st).  He  surmised, 
with  of  course  considerable  apprehension,  that 
Clinton's  success  would  stir  the  pulse  of  the 
British  in  New  York  and  make  them  more  ener- 
getic and  aggressive  than  they  had  been  for  a  con- 
siderable time.  His  great  fears  were  for  West 
Point.  This  stronghold  of  the  Hudson  protected 
the  communication  between  the  New  England 
States  and  the  rest  of  the  confederacy.  With  it 
lost,  the  colonies  would  be  cut  almost  in  twain. 
Nothing  shows  Washington's  military  sagacity 
more  clearly  than  this  continual  fear  of  his  that 
the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson,  natural  fortifica- 
tions as  they  are,  might  be  wrested  from  him. 
That  they  never  were  was  due  to  his  unceasing 

vigilance.     The  English  were  quite  aware  of  their 

263 


264      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

importance.  I  f  they  had  been  held  when  Burgoy  ne 
invaded  New  York  that  general  might  have  suc- 
ceeded. 

Clinton,  however,  made  no  campaign  against 
the  Highland  fortresses.  His  eye  was  still  jeal- 
ously cast  in  the  direction  of  the  Jerseys.  The 
British  had  been  repeatedly  driven  out  of  this 
state.  The  victorious  Clinton  wished  to  retrieve 
the  past  defeats  of  the  army  he  commanded. 

On  the  5th  of  June  Knyphausen  made  a  dash 
from  Staten  Island  to  Elizabethtown  Point  with 
five  thousand  men.  As  they  advanced  to  Eliza- 
bethtown, a  solitary  American  sentinel  stationed 
at  a  meeting  point  of  two  roads  discharged  his 
musket  at  them.  The  single  shot  struck  General 
Sterling,  who  led  Knyphausen's.advance,  and  mor- 
tally wounded  him. 

Colonel  Dayton,  who  commanded  the  American 
troops  in  the  town,  was  too  weak  to  cope  with  the 
advancing  British  and  retired.  As  he  retired  sig- 
nal guns,  fires  and  galloping  couriers  aroused  the 
country.  At  Connecticut  Farms,  Dayton  was 
joined  by  the  Jersey  brigade  under  General  Max- 
well, and  the  two  made  a  stand.  They  were  soon 
obliged  to  retreat  again,  though,  as  the  British 
were  reinforced  and  brought  their  artillery  into 
play. 

The  invaders  had  been  angered  by  the  opposi- 
tion to  their  march,  and  they  proceeded  to  wreak 
their  vengeance  on  the  defenceless  in  true  British 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION       265 

style.  They  set  fire  to  the  houses  of  the  town  and 
murdered  the  wife  of  the  Reverend  James  Cald- 
well,  whose  church  at  Elizabethtown  they  had 
burned  the  preceding  January.  He  himself  was 
away  with  the  regiment  of  which  he  was  chap- 
lain. 

Knyphausen  now  pressed  on  to  Morristown 
after  the  retreating  Americans.  But  as  the  Amer- 
icans retreated  they  were  being  constantly  rein- 
forced by  the  rising  countrymen,  and  they  were 
retreating  straight  on  to  Washington's  army. 
Knyphausen  got  almost  to  Springfield  before  he 
discovered  what  he  was  going  against.  He  at  once 
turned  around  and  retreated  during  the  ensuing 
night  to  his  starting-point.  The  next  day  the 
Americans  followed,  and  at  Connecticut  Farms, 
the  Reverend  James  Caldwell  found  his  wife  a 
corpse.  The  news  spread  abroad  through  the 
land  and  aroused  a  feeling  of  horror  and  indigna- 
tion almost  equal  to  that  aroused  by  the  murder 
of  Miss  Jane  McCrea.  Like  every  other  act  of 
British  cruelty,  it  but  aroused  the  country  to  a 
more  determined  stand  against  their  oppressors. 

Later  in  June,  Clinton  embarked  his  troops 
again  on  their  transports.  Washington  feared 
that  the  movement  was  to  be  against  West  Point, 
and  with  part  of  his  army  started  in  that  direction. 
He  moved  slowly  and  cautiously,  however.  The 
embarkation  was  but  a  feint,  and  on  the  23d  he 
learned  that  Knyphausen  had  once  more  moved 


266      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

from  Elizabethtown,  this  time  with  the  intention 
of  taking  Morristown  and  destroying  the  military 
stores  there.  Knyphausen's  advance  was  retarded 
by  Major  Lee  on  the  Vauxhall  road,  by  Colonel 
Dayton  on  the  main  road,  and  by  Colonels  Angel 
and  Shreve  at  two  bridges  across  the  Rahway 
River,  Greene,  with  the  main  army  left  by 
Washington,  being  stationed  in  the  Short  Hills 
about  a  mile  from  Springfield. 

Lee  made  a  sharp  fight  on  the  Vauxhall  road 
and  retreated.  Dayton  made  an  equally  gallant 
resistance.  With  him  was  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Caldwell,  whose  wife  had  been  murdered  such  a 
short  time  before.  He  was  maddened  at  her  fate. 
When  the  Jersey  regiment,  to  which  he  was  at- 
tached, needed  wadding  for  their  guns  he  rode  to 
the  Presbyterian  Church  and  brought  a  quantity 
of  Watts'  hymn-books  from  it,  which  he  distrib- 
uted for  wadding.  "  Now,  boys,"  cried  he,  "  put 
Watts  into  them." 

Colonel  Angel,  at  the  first  bridge  over  the  Rah- 
way, had  the  fiercest  of  the  fighting.  Both  his 
loss  and  that  of  the  enemy  opposed  to  him  were 
great.  Compelled  to  retire,  he  did  so  in  good 
order  to  the  bridge  where  Colonel  Shreve  was 
stationed.  Here  another  stand  was  made.  Both 
were  driven  eventually,  however,  back  on  the  main 
body.  Greene  awaited  the  British  attack  with  con- 
fidence. But  the  enemy  had  had  enough  fighting 
in  the  continual  attack  on  the  American  advance. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      267 

Knyphausen  saw  that  to  reach  Morristown  would 
probably  result  in  the  eventual  capture  of  himself 
and  his  command.  He,  therefore,  wisely  re- 
treated. He  was  just  in  time.  Washington  had 
despatched  a  brigade  from  his  command  to  the 
aid  of  Greene,  and  Knyphausen  would  have  been 
overwhelmed.  The  British  left  their  usual  calling 
card  at  Springfield  before  they  left.  They  burned 
the  place  to  the  ground.  All  the  way  back  to 
Elizabethtown  they  were  closely  pursued,  losing 
a  quantity  of  stores  and  some  prisoners.  Indeed 
they  were  glad  to  make  their  escape  back  to  New 
York. 

That  short  campaign  ended  the  British  en- 
deavours to  conquer  New  Jersey.  From  that  time 
on,  the  much  enduring  state  was  practically  free 
from  them. 

The  war,  however,  was  being  prosecuted,  and  its 
evils  felt,  in  another  direction.  We  have  seen 
how  Charleston  was  captured  and  General  Lin- 
coln and  his  army  with  it.  The  militia  of  the 
southern  states  was  being  rapidly  organised,  and 
De  Kalb  was  still  advancing  towards  Charleston. 
Cornwallis  and  his  subordinates,  in  the  meantime, 
were  overrunning  the  country.  A  new  command- 
ing officer  was  necessary  to  the  southern  army. 
It  had  been  Washington's  intention  to  recommend 
General  Greene  to  the  post.  But  the  friends  of 
Gates  were  too  quick  for  him,  and  before  Wash- 
ington's recommendation  could  reach  Philadelphia 


268      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Congress  had  appointed  Gates  to  the  command 
of  the  southern  army  of  defence.  This  general 
jumped  at  the  chance  to  add  to  the  laurels  he  had 
won  in  his  victories  over  Burgoyne.  Unfortu- 
nately, in  this  instance,  he  had  no  Schuyler  to 
prepare  the  way  to  victory.  Indeed  before  he 
left  his  estates  in  Virginia  he  received  a  sinister 
warning  from  his  old  associate  in  intrigue,  Lee. 
"  Beware,"  said  Lee,  "  that  your  northern  laurels 
do  not  change  to  southern  willows."  Gates 
proceeded  on  his  journey  to  anticipated  victory 
undismayed,  and  after  he  had  started  Washington 
received  the  first  division  of  welcome  reinforce- 
ments from  the  French  under  the  Count  de  Ro- 
chambeau.  Lafayette  had  been  successful  in  his 
pleading  with  the  French  king  to  send  another 
fleet  and  army  to  the  succour  of  the  struggling 
states. 

Cornwallis  was  pressing  on  in  his  determination 
to  conquer  North  Carolina  and  add  it  to  the  other 
subdued  southern  states.  He  had  a  harder  nut 
to  crack  than  he  thought.  He  was  going  among  a 
people  whose  ancestors  had  had  a  long  experience 
in  dealing  with  invaders.  North  Carolina  was 
populated  largely  by  a  race  of  Scotch-Irish  ex- 
traction, and  they  had  given  their  royal  governors 
more  trouble  in  colonial  days  than  the  people  of 
any  other  colony.  They  were  by  far  the  most 
independent  of  any.  When  they  saw  that  they 
were  to  be  invaded  by  the  conquering  Briton  they 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      269 

prepared  to  make  trouble.  The  state,  too,  pre- 
sented many  physical  obstacles  to  successful  in- 
vasion. It  contained  wild  mountains,  deep  forests 
and  treacherous  rivers  that  were  seldom  bridged 
because  ordinarily  they  were  fordable.  But  they 
were  liable  to  be  swollen  to  raging  torrents  by 
sudden  storms.  These  were  the  defensive  strength 
of  the  country,  and  Lord  Cornwallis  was  all  un- 
aware of  them. 

The  personal  leader  of  the  North  Carolinians 
was  Thomas  Sumter,  an  old  Indian  fighter 
whom  they  loved  to  call  the  "  Game  Cock."  In 
the  Continental  army  he  had  been  a  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  riflemen.  Along  the  coast  the  state  is 
low  and  swampy  and  vegetation  so  thick  that  it 
was  full  of  hidden  fastnesses.  When  Charleston 
fell  Sumter  had  secreted  himself  and  family  in 
one  of  these.  From  it  he  sallied  forth  whenever 
the  opportunity  presented  with  whatever  small 
force  he  could  collect  to  surprise  and  harry  small 
detachments  of  the  enemy.  His  purpose  accom- 
plished he  would  retire  with  equal  despatch  to  his 
fastness  and  be  as  completely  lost  to  the  bewil- 
dered British  as  though  the  earth  had  swallowed 
him.  Like  unto  him  was  Francis  Marion,  who, 
you  will  remember,  was  at  the  battle  of  Fort 
Moultric.  Marion  was  known  to  the  English  as 
"  The  Swamp  Fox  of  the  Carolinas."  The  names 
of  these  two  men  soon  became  more  of  a  terror 
to  the  British  and  Tories  than  even  that  of  Tarle- 


270      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

ton  to  the  patriots.  At  Hanging  Rock  in 
August,  Sumter,  with  a  particularly  large  force, 
for  him,  of  about  six  hundred  men,  fell  upon  the 
British,  nearly  annihilated  the  Prince  of  Wales 
regiment  and  scattered  and  routed  a  large  force  of 
Tories  that  were  acting  with  it.  «. 

De  Kalb  in  the  meantime  had  been  stopped  at 
Deep  River  on  the  6th  of  July,  his  provisions 
having  given  out.  General  Caswell,  with  the 
North  Carolina  militia,  was  on  the  Pedee,  and  De 
Kalb  was  endeavouring  to  join  them  and  the  small 
remainder  of  the  defenders  of  Charleston  who 
had  escaped  capture.  The  country  between  them 
was  sterile,  however,  and  De  Kalb  was  compelled 
to  stop  and  forage  for  supplies.  He  was  about 
to  make  a  detour  through  the  more  fertile  counties 
when  Gates  arrived  on  the  25th. 

Gates,  burning  to  accomplish  much  in  little 
time,  gave  orders  for  an  immediate  advance 
through  the  sterile  country.  He  declared  that 
provisions  in  plenty  were  but  a  few  days'  march 
behind.  On  the  2/th  the  army  started  and  suf- 
fered severely  in  consequence  of  Gates'  lack  of 
foresight.  On  the  third  of  August,  however, 
Gates  was  joined  by  a  small  body  of  regulars 
under  Lieutenant-colonel  Porterfield,  and  on  the 
7th  made  his  junction  with  Caswell.  On  the  I3th 
of  the  month,  Cornwallis  and  Gates  were  but 
twelve  miles  apart,  the  British  being  at  Camden. 
The  British  force  was  about  two  thousand.  That 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      271 

of  Gates  was  about  a  thousand  more,  but  most  of 
them  were  raw  militia.  And  of  this  force  Gates 
sent  Colonel  Woolford  and  a  hundred  regulars, 
together  with  some  field-pieces  to  aid  Sumter  in 
that  enterprising  partisan's  attempt  to  capture  a 
large  British  convoy.  On  the  evening  of  the  i$th 
Gates  pushed  on  about  seven  miles  to  attack  the 
British  should  they  attempt  to  interfere  with 
Sumter.  And  on  the  same  evening,  by  a  singular 
coincidence,  the  British  moved  forward  to  attack 
Gates  on  the  next  day.  And  of  this  intention  of 
the  English  Gates  was  blissfully  unaware,  for  he 
had  made  little  or  no  effort  to  scout  the  country 
in  front  of  him. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  CAMDEN. 

The  two  forces  blundered  on  to  each  other 
about  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  i6th.  A 
skirmish  immediately  ensued  between  the  two  ad- 
vance guards.  Both  forces  then  halted,  formed 
for  action  and  waited  for  daylight.  Gates  was 
astonished  to  learn  from  a  few  prisoners  his  ad- 
vance had  captured  that  he  was  in  the  immediate 
presence  of  Cornwallis,  and  the  prisoners  led  him 
to  believe  that  the  force  of  the  enemy  was  con- 
siderably larger  than  it  was.  Dumfounded  he 
called  a  council  of  war  and  asked  what  was  to  be 
done.  There  was  nothing  now  to  do  but  fight, 
however.  Arrangements  were  accordingly  made. 


272      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

The  Maryland  division,  led  by  De  Kalb,  was  on 
the  right  of  the  American  line,  the  Virginia  militia 
on  the  left  and  Caswell's  North  Carolina  militia 
in  the  centre.  The  artillery  was  in  the  road,  and 
a  brigade  of  the  regulars  were  held  in  reserve. 

The  British  attacked  at  daybreak.  They 
charged,  firing  and  shouting,  and  the  inexperienced 
militia  were  dismayed.  They  came  upon  the  left 
first.  Stevens  tried  to  control  his  men,  but  he 
was  unsuccessful.  His  militia  threw  down  their 
loaded  muskets  and  fled.  The  panic  spread.  The 
North  Carolina  militia  made  a  short  stand,  but 
were  soon  in  headlong  flight,  pursued  by  Tarleton 
and  his  cavalry.  Gates  and  his  staff  tried  to  rally 
the  militia,  but  failed.  The  day  was  hazy  ;  smoke 
hung  about  the  field  of  battle.  Gates  supposed 
the  regulars  had  fled  with  the  militia  and  gave  up 
all  for  lost.  He  retreated  with  the  rest. 

But  the  regulars  had  not  fled.  Not  knowing 
that  they  were  deserted,  they  steadfastly  held  their 
ground,  rallying  whenever  broken  and  driving 
back  the  bayonet  charges.  Tarleton,  however, 
finally  charged  them  on  the  flank  and  drove  them 
in  confusion  into  the  woods  and  swamps.  Un- 
fortunately the  brave  De  Kalb  fell,  pierced  by 
eleven  wounds,  and  his  aide  De  Buysson  was 
wounded  a  number  of  times  by  the  merciless  red- 
coats while  supporting  the  wounded  general  in 
his  arms.  At  last  they  were  taken  prisoners, 
having  experienced  less  mercy  than  if  they  had 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      273 

fallen  into  the  hands  of  cannibals.  He  died  a  few 
days  later. 

Poor  Gates  had  planned  to  rally  his  fugitives 
and  make  a  stand  at  his  previous  camp,  but  before 
he  reached  it  he  had  been  deserted  by  all  save 
his  generals  and  his  and  their  aides.  His  mortifi- 
cation may  be  imagined.  Lee's  warning  had 
proved  a  prediction.  And  to  make  matters  worse 
Sumter  had  been  completely  successful  in  captur- 
ing the  convoy.  But  Tarleton  was  sent  by  Corn- 
wallis  after  Sumter  and  came  upon  him  by 
surprise  on  the  Wateree,  capturing  his  camp. 
Indeed  Sumter  barely  escaped  with  but  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  of  his  men.  Gates  and  Caswell 
proceeded  with  the  broken  remnants  of  the  army 
to  Charlotte,  and  from  there  to  Hillsborough,  a 
hundred  and  eighty  miles  from  Camden,  where  he 
finally  stopped.  Of  his  army  there  remained  now 
but  a  thousand  regulars.  The  militia  had  one 
and  all  dispersed  to  their  homes. 

Washington,  when  he  heard  of  the  disaster,  im- 
mediately took  what  steps  he  could  to  get  the 
southern  states  to  raise  a  sufficient  force  of  reg- 
ular troops  to  at  least  hold  the  enemy  in  check. 
He  had  no  hope  of  driving  them  out  of  theCaro- 
linas  until  he  received  further  help  from  abroad. 
To  Gates,  in  the  hour  of  the  latter's  humiliation, 
he  wrote  a  touching  letter  of  sympathy  and  un- 
broken confidence.  It  was  far  beneath  Washing, 
ton  to  rejoice  at  the  misfortunes  of  the  man  who 
18 


274      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

had  been  so  long  his  bitter  enemy  and  \vould-be 
rival.  There  are  times  when,  contemplating  the 
heroic  character  of  the  great  commander-in-chief, 
we  almost  lose  sight  of  his  subordinates  and  feel 
like  exclaiming,  "  After  all,  there  was  but  one 
Hero  of  the  Revolution."  And  we  may  be  for- 
given a  sigh  if  we  compare  the  petty,  squabbling, 
jealous  rivalry  for  power  of  the  pretended  great 
men  of  our  own  day  to  so  sublime  a  figure.  To- 
day a  man  would  seek  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States  on  the  reputation  of  one  of  Wash- 
ington's troop  captains.  We  are  long  past  our 
heroic  age. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

CORNWALLIS'  ADVANCE  INTO  NORTH  CAROLINA 
— THE  BATTLE  OF  KING'S  MOUNTAIN — SUM- 
TER  VS.  TARLETON — THE  BATTLE  OF  THE 
COWPENS 

CORNWALL  is  having  so  thoroughly  beaten 
Gates  fancied  that  he  had  mastered  the  rebels  in 
South  Carolina,  and  that  North  Carolina  awaited 
but  his  advent  to  yield  submission.  He  remained 
at  Camden  a  short  time  to  collect  supplies  and 
give  his  armies  a  rest  before  proceeding  to  Char- 
lotte. He  little  dreamed  that  the  campaign  he 
had  opened  so  gloriously  for  the  English  cause 
was  to  end  in  bitter  defeat,  and  was  to  result 
eventually  in  the  complete  overthrow  of  royal 
authority  in  the  colonies. 

Before  proceeding  further  he  detached  Major 
Ferguson,  a  royalist,  with  his  partisan  corps,  to 
the  mountains  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  to 
compel  the  submission  of  the  people  and  to  aid 
local  royalists  in  annoying  the  beaten  army  that 
Gates  was  endeavouring  to  reorganise.  He  was 
%to  operate  between  the  Catawba  and  the  Yadkin, 
and  eventually  rejoin  Cornwallis  at  Charlotte. 

While  Cornwallis  waited  he  hanged  a  number 

275 


276      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

of  prisoners  taken  at  Camden  who  were  found  to 
have  British  protections  in  their  pockets.  They 
were  strung  up  without  trial  and  almost  without 
formal  proceedings  of  any  kind.  Slaughter  has 
always  been  deemed  by  the  British  an  apt  method 
of  making  a  good  and  loyal  colonist. 

When  Cornwallis  moved  on  and  established 
himself  at  Charlotte  he  soon  learned  to  call  the 
place  the  "  Hornet's  Nest  of  the  Carolinas."  The 
country  was  so  sparsely  settled  that  it  could  not 
be  foraged  to  advantage.  His  scouting  parties 
were  continually  waylaid  by  the  inhabitants. 
His  convoys  of  provisions  from  Camden  had  to 
be  well  guarded  on  the  road  or  they  were  cap- 
tured, and  few  got  through  even  then  without  a 
running  fight.  What  was  worse,  his  messengers 
were  shot  or  captured  and  their  despatches  taken. 
The  latter  was  particularly  annoying,  as  he  could 
learn  nothing  of  the  movements  of  Ferguson. 

The  latter  was  about  to  move  towards  Char- 
lotte, according  to  his  orders,  when  he  learned  of 
a  small  American  force  retreating  to  the  moun- 
tains from  an  expedition  against  Augusta.  He 
determined  to  capture  it.  He  supposed  that  the 
country  about  was  too  thinly  inhabited  to  oppose 
him.  He  stopped  at  Gilbert-town,  a  small  place 
on  the  frontier  of  the  state.  But  his  maraud  had 
roused  the  backwoodsmen  to  the  defence  of  their 
homes.  And  they  were  all  trained  Indian  fight- 
ers. A  large  force  suddenly  gathered  about  him. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      277 

They  were  composed  of  Kentuckians,  led  by  Colo- 
nels Campbell  and  Boone,  of  Carolinians,  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Williams,  and  of  Virginians, 
under  the  command  of  Colonels  Cleveland, 
Shelby  and  Sevier.  Three  thousand  gathered 
about  him.  Ferguson  thought  better  of  his  pro- 
ject of  capturing  Americans  and  pushed  for  the 
British  army,  as  Cornwallis  had  instructed.  But  he 
was  too  late,  and  was  destined  never  again  to  see 
the  British  commander.  Nor  could  he  even  com- 
municate with  Cornwallis,  as  his  expresses  were 
one  and  all  captured  or  killed. 

The  American  frontiersmen  and  woodsmen 
followed  in  haste  on  his  trail,  travelling  night 
and  day  in  the  clear  October  weather.  They 
soon  brought  Ferguson  to  bay  at  King's  Moun- 
tain, a  detached  promontory  in  the  foot-hills, 
which  had  sloping  sides,  well  wooded  and  well- 
adapted  to  defence.  It  was  a  position  that  Fer- 
guson considered  invulnerable,  and  he  had  no 
thought  of  defeat. 

The  Americans  attacked  him  in  three  equal 
divisions  on  three  sides  of  the  mountain. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  KING'S  MOUNTAIN. 

Ferguson  had  deployed  his  command  on  the 
top  of  the  mountain.  Of  the  Americans,  Camp- 
bell and  Shelby  led  the  centre  of  the  attack. 
Sevier  and  McDowell  were  on  the  right,  and 


278      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Cleveland  and  Williams  on  the  left,  both  of  these 
latter  divisions  acting  as  flanking  columns.  The 
Americans  were  without  military  discipline.  Once 
in  the  fight  they  were  to  act  as  individuals  after 
the  manner  of  Indian  warfare.  They  we're  un- 
provided with  bayonets  and  if  charged  were  to 
retire  stubbornly,  but  not  too  far,  and  as  soon  as 
the  charge  ceased  were  to  return  to  the  attack. 

Campbell  allowed  time  for  the  flanking  divis- 
ions to  get  ahead  and  then  pushed  up  the  moun- 
tain. His  divisions  drove  in  Ferguson's  pickets 
about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  As  soon  as 
they  came  within  rifle  distance  of  the  crest  of  the 
mountain  the  English  opened  with  a  tremendous 
volley.  The  Americans  immediately  sought  the 
shelter  of  the  trees  and  opened  a  deadly  rifle  fire, 
practically  all  of  them  being  sharpshooters. 

Ferguson  could  not  stand  this  fire  and  ordered 
a  bayonet  charge  down  the  mountain.  It  was  a 
fatal  mistake.  The  centre  gave  way  slowly,  and 
he  seemed  to  be  on  the  point  of  victory  when  one 
of  the  flanking  divisions  opened  on  him.  He  had 
to  change  front  and  charge  this.  No  sooner  was 
he  partially  successful  in  his  charge  upon  this 
than  the  other  flanking  division  opened  on  him, 
while  the  centre  came  back  to  the  attack  in  front. 
So  the  battle  went  on.  He  charged  first  one  and 
then  the  other  only  to  be  slaughtered  by  the  di- 
visions that  were  at  rest.  The  ground,  too,  was 
better  suited  to  rifle  firing  than  to  bayonets,  and 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      279 

as  the  British  were  above  the  Americans  they 
were  not  exposed  to  their  own  cross  fire.  At 
length  Ferguson  was  surrounded.  He  fought 
doggedly  until  he  himself  was  hit,  when  his  second 
in  command  waved  a  white  flag  and  surrendered. 
The  British  lost  one  hundred  and  fifty  killed  and 
more  than  that  wounded.  There  were  but  twenty 
Americans  killed  and  a  proportionate  number 
wounded.  Colonel  Williams,  however,  was  among 
the  killed,  so  that  each  side  lost  a  leading  officer. 
Eight  hundred  or  more  prisoners  were  taken,  and 
some  of  the  royalists  were  hung  in  revenge  for 
the  hanging  Cornwallis  had  indulged  in  at  Cam- 
den.  The  royalists,  however,  were  at  least  tried 
by  court-martial. 

Unfortunately  for  the  American  cause  the 
mountaineers  and  frontiersmen  who  fought  this 
battle  had  no  appreciation  of  its  importance  and 
at  once  went  their  several  ways.  If  they  had 
maintained  their  organization  they  could  have 
given  Cornwallis  a  deal  of  trouble.  As  it  was 
they  had  read  Cornwallis  such  a  lesson  that  he 
feared  a  rising  in  South  Carolina  and  the  over- 
throw of  the  royal  authority  in  his  rear.  He 
therefore  turned  tail  on  the  I4th  of  October  and 
hastened  back  to  Winnsborough  with  such  haste 
that  he  lost  twenty  waggons  in  his  first  day's 
march  with  all  their  contents. 

This  victory  raised  the  partisan  spirit  through- 
out the  Carolinas.  Marion  and  his  famous  men 


280      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

were  soon  dashing  through  the  country,  a  varying 
force  in  strength  but  ever  the  same  in  spirit.  He 
operated  between  the  Pedee  and  Black  rivers,  and 
after  striking  a  blow  would  disappear  into  the 
swamps.  Sometimes  he  even  charged  almost  up 
to  the  gates  of  Charleston,  and  he  was  contin- 
ually cutting  the  British  communications  with 
that  city.  Tarleton  tried  to  bag  the  swamp 
"  fox,"  but  Marion  was  too  crafty  for  him,  avoided 
a  regular  engagement  and  continued  his  exploits. 
At  the  same  time  that  Marion  was  at  work  be- 
tween the  Black  and  Pedee  rivers,  Sumter  ap- 
peared on  the  Santee,  captured  a  British  outpost, 
crossed  the  Broad  river  and  menaced  the  British 
post  at  Ninety-six.  Tarleton  was  called  off  from 
Marion  to  oppose  Sumter.  The  latter  made  for 
the  Tyger  river,  but  was  overtaken  by  Tarleton's 
advance  on  the  2Oth  of  November.  It  was  too 
late  to  cross,  and  Sumter  hastily  improvised  a  fort 
out  of  a  log  barn  and  determined  to  make  a 
stand.  Tarleton  with  his  advance  awaited  the 
arrival  of  his  main  body.  Sumter  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity to  take  the  offensive  and  charged  himself. 
The  charge  was  repulsed,  and  Tarleton  charged  in 
turn.  But  he  too  was  repulsed  by  the  fire  from 
the  log-barn  and  was  obliged  to  retire  and  await 
his  reinforcements.  Night  fell,  and  during  it 
Sumter  made  the  difficult  passage  of  the  river  and 
his  forces  dispersed  into  the  swamps.  He  him- 
self, being  wounded,  was  carried  off  by  some  of 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      281 

his  nearer  friends  on  a  litter  swung  between  two 
horses. 

On  the  retreat  of  Cornwallis,  Gates  moved  with 
the  remnants  of  his  army  to  Charlotte,  and  on  the 
2d  of  December  General  Greene  arrived  at  that 
place  and  took  command,  superseding  Gates,  who 
retired  to  his  Virginia  estates. 

Greene  set  about  making  an  army  out  of  the 
rabble  that  Gates  had  lost  all  command  of.  And 
he  found  the  task  a  difficult  one.  But  he  made 
himself  liked,  and  he  took  such  prompt  and  effect- 
ive measures  that  he  won  the  love  of  his  subordi- 
nates, and  military  discipline  began  to  return. 

Greene  divided  his  command,  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  of  foraging  in  such  a  barren  country. 
He  sent  Morgan,  the  rifleman,  with  a  part  of  his 
force  towards  Ninety-six.  He,  with  the  re- 
mainder, marched  to  the  east  side  of  the  Pedee 
River  opposite  the  Cheraw  Hills. 

Cornwallis  lay  at  Winnsborough,  about  seventy 
miles  from  Greene,  and  General  Leslie  was  push- 
ing on  with  fifteen  hundred  reinforcements  to  join 
him.  With  these  Cornwallis  intended  to  make 
another  attempt  to  subjugate  North  Carolina. 
The  plan  of  the  British  commander  was  to  leave 
Lord  Rawdon,  at  Camden,  with  a  large  force  to 
keep  South  Carolina  in  subjection,  while  he,  with 
the  remainder  of  his  army,  marched  forward,  got 
between  Greene  and  Virginia,  and  compelled  the 
latter  to  give  battle.  By  getting  between  Greene 


282      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

and  Virginia  he  would  prevent  the  latter  from 
being  reinforced.  Cornwallis  looked  forward  to 
the  complete  subjugation  of  North  Carolina,  and 
afterwards  that  of  Virginia  and  Maryland. 

Cornwallis  did  not  wish  to  leave  Morgan  un- 
molested in  the  neighbourhood  of  Ninety-six, 
however,  and  he  despatched  Tarleton  after  Morgan 
with  about  eleven  hundred  picked  troops,  of  whom 
a  large  proportion  were  Tarleton's  famous  cav- 
alry. 

Cornwallis  moved  on  the  I2th  of  December 
in  such  a  manner  that  he  could  carry  out  his  origi- 
nal intention,  and  at  the  same  time  be  able  to 
prevent  Morgan  from  joining  Greene. 

Morgan,  in  the  meantime,  had  been  joined  by 
North  Carolina  and  Georgia  militia,  until  his  force 
was  about  equal  to  Tarleton's,  though  it  was  in- 
ferior in  cavalry  and  in  discipline.  On  the  ap- 
proach of  Tarleton,  Morgan  made  for  the  upper 
fords  of  the  Broad  River.  On  the  evening  of  the 
1 5th  of  January,  1781,  Tarleton  came  upon  a  small 
detachment  left  behind  by  Morgan.  He  supposed 
that  Morgan  was  in  full  force  there  on  the  Pacelot, 
and  manoeuvred  to  deceive  the  American.  This 
wasted  time,  and  in  the  early  morning  when  he 
crossed  the  stream,  he  was  dumfounded  to  dis- 
cover that  Morgan  was  well  away  on  his  retreat. 
Tarleton  pressed  forward  impetuously.  At  ten 
that  night  he  came  upon  a  recently  deserted  camp 
of  Morgan's,  where  the  camp  fires  were  still  burn- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      283 

ing.  Tarleton  let  his  men  have  but  a  short  rest, 
being  anxious  to  come  upon  the  American  com- 
mander while  in  retreat.  At  two  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  therefore,  he  pressed  on  with  his  weary 
soldiers.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  i/th  he 
captured  two  of  Morgan's  videttes  and  was  sur- 
prised to  find  that,  instead  of  being  in  headlong 
flight,  Morgan  had  halted  on  the  banks  of  the 
Broad  River,  given  his  army  a  good  night's  rest 
and  was  prepared  to  give  battle  to  Tarleton.  As 
a  matter  of  fact  Morgan  had  stopped  for  fear 
Tarleton  would  come  upon  him  while  crossing  the 
river  and  take  advantage  of  his  confusion. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  COWPENS. 

Morgan  had  halted  at  a  grazing  establishment 
known  as  Hannah's  Cowpens.  To-day  it  would 
be  known  as  a  ranch,  and  it  seems  a  shame  that  a 
place  where  the  Americans  won  a  victory,  in  the 
Revolution,  should  be  known  by  quite  so  undig- 
nified a  name. 

Morgan  took  position  in  an  open  wood  with  a 
slight  eminence  on  either  flank.  His  infantry 
were  arranged  in  two  lines.  The  first  was  North 
and  South  Carolina  militia  under  Colonel  Pickens. 
This  line,  with  a  corps  of  riflemen  in  front  of  it, 
was  to  wait  until  the  enemy  were  within  easy  shot, 
then  fire  two  volleys  and  retire. 

The  second  line,  drawn  up  in  rear,  was  com- 


284      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

posed  of  Colonel  Howard's  light  infantry  and  the 
Virginia  riflemen,  all  of  them  regulars.  In  rear  of 
this  line  Colonel  Washington  held  Morgan's  small 
force  of  cavalry,  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
strong. 

Tarleton  advanced  about  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  He  anticipated  an  easy  victory  as  the 
ground  was  favourable  to  the  action  of  his  cavalry. 
He  formed  his  infantry  into  line  with  his  dragoons 
on  either  flank.  He  left  a  part  of  each  arm,  how- 
ever, as  a  reserve.  But  he  was  so  impetuous  that 
he  did  not  even  wait  for  this  reserve  to  take  its 
place  before  giving  the  order  to  advance.  And 
there  was  one  serious  handicap  that  he  entirely 
overlooked.  His  men  were  tired  out  with  their 
rapid  pursuit,  while  Morgan's  command  had  had 
the  benefit  of  a  good  night's  sleep. 

The  corps  of  riflemen  fired  on  the  advancing 
British  and  then  fell  back  on  Pickens  militiamen. 
The  latter  fired  the  two  volleys  as  prearranged, 
and  then  fell  back  on  the  regulars.  Against  these 
the  British  infantry  were  hurled,  while  the  cavalry 
charged  their  flanks.  For  a  time  they  stood,  but 
being  outflanked  were  about  to  change  front,  when 
Morgan  ordered  then  to  fall  back  on  Colonel 
Washington's  cavalry. 

The  British  rushed  forward  irregularly,  suppos- 
ing the  Americans  to  be  in  full  retreat.  To  their 
amazement  they  were  immediately  charged  by 
Colonel  Washington's  cavalry,  while  the  Continen- 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      285 

tals,  facing  about,  gave  them  a  destructive  volley 
and  then  charged  back  in  turn. 

The  British  fell  at  once  into  complete  confusion. 
Fatigued  and  exhausted,  as  well  as  surprised,  they 
were  seized  with  panic  and  broke.  A  few  endeav- 
oured to  defend  their  cannon,  but  they  were  cut 
down  and  the  cannon  captured,  as  well  as  the 
British  colours.  The  flight  now  became  general. 
Not  even  Tarleton  himself  could  rally  his  famous 
dragoons,  and  they  galloped  off.  Tarleton  in- 
deed and  the  few  officers  and  men  who  remained 
true  to  him  had  to  trust  to  the  fleetness  of  their 
horses  to  escape  capture. 

The  British  loss  was  one  hundred  and  ten  killed, 
two  hundred  wounded  and  between  five  and  six 
hundred  prisoners.  The  Americans  had  but 
twelve  killed  and  sixty  wounded.  Besides  the 
cannon  and  colours,  Morgan  captured  eight  hun- 
dred muskets,  thirty-five  waggons,  seventy  negroes, 
one  hundred  dragoon  horses  and  various  other 
belongings  of  Tarleton's  army. 

Morgan  sent  Colonel  Washington  in  pursuit  of 
the  flying  Tarleton  and  then  made  for  the 
Catawba.  Cornwallis  was  but  twenty-five  miles 
away,  and  Morgan  wanted  to  make  sure  of  a  junc- 
tion with  Greene.  Cornwallis  waited  for  his  rein- 
forcements and  to  gather  up  the  stragglers  from 
Tarleton's  defeated  command.  Then  he  started 
for  Morgan,  but  the  delay  had  saved  the  latter. 
Morgan  got  his  last  man  across  the  Catawba  two 


286      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

hours  before  the  van  of  Cornwallis'  army  came  in 
sight.  That  night  a  heavy  rain  came  on  and  so 
swelled  the  Catawba  that  it  became  impassable. 
Cornwallis  felt  the  loss  of  Tarleton's  light  troops 
keenly.  He  needed  them  for  just  such  work  as 
this  pursuit  of  Morgan  and  his  coming  pursuit  of 
Greene.  He  therefore  spent  two  days  destroying 
every  particle  of  baggage  belonging  to  his  army 
that  was  not  absolutely  necessary.  He  himself 
set  the  example.  His  officers  followed,  and  prep- 
arations were  made  for  the  most  rapid  marching. 
The  English  even  destroyed  all  their  wines  and 
liquors  with  which  they  usually  supplied  them- 
selves on  campaign,  and  some  of  their  food  sup- 
plies were  destroyed.  They  supposed  Morgan  to 
be  so  hindered  by~his  prisoners  that  they  could 
overtake  him  before  he  made  his  junction  with 
Greene.  But  they  were  mistaken. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

GREENE  TAKES  COMMAND  AND  COMMENCES  HIS 
FAMOUS  RETREAT — THE  CROSSING  OF  THE 
CATAWBA,  THE  YADKIN  AND  THE  DAN  RIVERS 
— CORNWALLIS  ABANDONS  PURSUIT — HE  RE- 
TIRES TO  HILLSBOROUGH  AND  IS  FOLLOWED 
BY  GREENE — BATTLE  "OF  GUILFORD  COURT 
HOUSE  —  THE  VICTOR  RETREATS  —  GREENE 
MOVES  INTO  SOUTH  CAROLINA 

MORGAN  had  sent  his  prisoners  back  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route  so  that  they  might  not  retard 
his  retreat.  And  Greene  put  himself  in  motion 
to  join  Morgan.  Greene  had  received  news  of  a 
British  force  that  had  been  landed  at  Wilmington 
and  that  was  supposed  to  be  intended  for  cooper- 
ation with  Cornwallis.  He  moved,  therefore,  not 
only  to  help  Morgan  but  to  prevent  the  junction 
of  Cornwallis  and  this  new  army.  The  main  body 
he  left  under  command  of  General  Huger,  and 
with  a  guard  of  a  few  dragoons  pushed  on  to  per- 
sonally conduct  Morgan's  retreat.  He  foresaw  the 
eventual  ruin  of  Cornwallis.  And  he  adopted 
Washington's  famous  Fabian  policy  of  constant 
retreat  except  when  there  was  an  exceptionally 

good  opportunity  to  fight.     He  intended  to  draw 

287 


288      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

Cornwallis  as  far  as  he  could  from  his  base  of  sup- 
plies by  retreating  before  him,  and  expected  to  be 
joined  by  reinforcements  that  would  make  him 
in  the  end  superior  in  strength  to  the  English 
general. 

Greene  ordered  Morgan  to  retreat  on  the  3ist 
of  the  month  so  that  he  might  get  a  good  lead  on 
his  pursuer.  The  Catawba  was  subsiding  and 
might  at  any  moment  become  again  fordable.  To 
dispute  the  passage  of  the  river,  Greene  left  about 
five  hundred  militia  under  General  Davidson. 
And  on  the  very  night  of  the  3ist  Cornwallis 
moved  out  in  pursuit.  He  was  unsuccessful  in 
finding  an  unguarded  ford,  though  he  marched  a 
good  part  of  the  night  in  an  attempt  to  do  so. 
But  he  forced  the  passage,  nevertheless,  with  some 
loss.  The  American  loss  was  about  forty,  includ- 
ing General  Davidson,  who  was  last  to  retreat 
and  was  killed  as  he  was  mounting  his  horse. 
Tarleton  pursued  the  fleeing  militia  and  totally 
dispersed  them  with  some  further  loss.  Had  he 
continued  but  a  few  miles  further  in  his  pursuit 
he  would  have  captured  General  Greene  himself. 
Greene,  however,  rode  on  alone  through  mud  and 
rain  and  escaped.  He  had  ordered  Huger  to  join 
Morgan  at  Guilford  Court  House.  Cornwallis 
was  delayed  by  his  artillery  and  baggage.  He 
mounted  some  of  his  infantry  on  baggage  horses, 
joined  them  to  the  cavalry  and  sent  them  on 
ahead.  They  arrived  at  the  Yadkin  just  in  time 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      289 

to  capture  a  few  waggons  and  nothing  more.  The 
Yadkin  was  not  fordable  at  the  place,  and  the 
Americans  had  secured  all  the  boats.  The  army 
of  Cornwallis  was  obliged  to  move  up  the  river 
to  a  fordable  point,  and  Greene's  two  divisions 
united  safely  at  the  appointed  place  on  the  Qth  of 
February. 

Greene  had  now  a  force  about  equal  to  that  of 
Cornwallis  in  numerical  strength,  but  there  the 
equality  ended.  Cornwallis'  soldiers  were  all  vet- 
erans ;  most  of  Greene's  were  militia.  And  Corn- 
wallis had  much  superior  cavalry.  Greene  called 
a  council  of  war,  one  of  the  few  he  called  during 
all  his  career,  and  it  was  unanimously  agreed  not 
to  offer  battle,  but  to  continue  the  retreat.  This 
was  the  measure  advocated  by  Greene  himself. 
He  wanted  to  retreat  across  the  river  Dan  into 
Virginia.  By  doing  this  he  would  be  continually 
nearing  his  reinforcements,  and  Cornwallis  would 
be  continually  moving  further  and  further  from 
his  base  of  supplies  and  away  from  any  possible 
reinforcements.  For  Greene  had  learned  that  the 
force  landed  at  Wilmington  was  a  small  one  and 
not  intended  to  cooperate  with  Cornwallis. 

Cornwallis  on  his  part  expected  to  catch  Greene 
and  force  him  to  fight  before  he  could  reach  the 
river  Dan,  and  he  calculated  that  there  were  not 
enough  boats  on  the  river  to  cross  Greene's  army. 

The  most  famous  portion  of  this  most  famous 
retreat  now  began.  Cornwallis  moved  for  the 
'9 


29o      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

upper  fords  of  the  river,  supposing  there  were  no 
others.  Greene  set  out  for  the  fords  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Dan  and  Staunton  rivers.  In  addition 
General  Kosciuszko  hurried  on  to  collect  all  the 
boats  for  the  use  of  Greene's  army  and  to  throw 
up  works  for  the  defence  of  the  ferries.  Greene 
commanded  the  main  body  of  the  army,  which 
with  the  trains,  formed  the  advance,  and  Colonel 
Williams  commanded  the  rear-guard,  as  Morgan 
was  ill.  It  was  a  terrible  march  and  a  brilliant 
one.  Every  stratagem  that  could  be  devised  to 
delay  the  British  and  throw  them  off  the  scent  was 
used  with  skill,  as  Tarleton  himself  testifies.  The 
Americans  were  poorly  clad  and  many  of  them 
barefoot,  leaving  the  traces  of  their  bare  feet  in 
splotches  of  blood  on  the  frozen  ground.  But 
they  were  accustomed  to  hardships. 

Cornwallis  pressed  on,  confident  that  he  at  last 
had  Greene  in  a  trap.  The  British  general  did 
not  know  of  the  lower  fords,  and  he  was  held  far 
in  rear  by  Williams  and  his  active  rear-guard.  At 
last  the  army  reached  the  Dan  and  crossed  it  in  a 
day.  That  night  Williams  left  his  camp-fires 
burning  in  sight  of  the  British  and  silently  de- 
camped. He  also  crossed  in  safety,  just  as,  again, 
the  van  of  the  British  army  marched  in  sight  of 
the  river.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  surpris- 
ing or  disheartening  to  the  British  than  this  un- 
'expected  escape  of  the  American  army.  They 
had  toiled  and  struggled  and  suffered  in  vain. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      291 

Greene  had  the  satisfaction,  besides  saving  his 
army,  of  conducting  one  of  the  most  masterly 
retreats  known  to  military  history. 

The  baffled  Cornwallis  now  took  post  at  Hills- 
borough.  Greene  had  made  preparations  for 
further  retreat,  but  perceiving  that  Cornwallis  had 
given  up  the  pursuit  promptly  took  up  the  role  of 
pursuer  himself.  The  river  had  fallen,  and  he  sent 
Lee  and  Pickens  on  a  scout.  They  were  anxious 
to  meet  Tarleton,  who  was  on  a  similar  mission 
for  the  enemy.  They  failed  to  trap  him,  but  had 
the  good  fortune  to  come  upon  a  force  of  four 
hundred  royalists  under  Colonel  Pyle,  which  had 
been  raised  to  reinforce  Cornwallis  and  was  in 
quest  of  Tarleton  to  form  a  junction.  In  the  en- 
gagement that  followed  Lee  and  Pickens  killed 
and  wounded  nearly  half  the  Tory  detachment 
and  captured  nearly  all  the  rest. 

Greene  crossed  the  Dan,  and  Cornwallis  aban- 
doned Hillsborough,  crossed  the  Haw  River  and 
moved  to  the  banks  of  the  Alamance,  one  of  the 
tributaries  of  the  Haw.  Here  he  was  in  a  country 
more  favourable  to  him  in  sentiment  and  full  of 
supplies,  of  which  he  stood  in  great  need.  Greene 
threw  out  his  light  troops  under  Pickens  and 
Williams  to  watch  Cornwallis,  and  himself  moved 
from  camp  to  camp,  avoiding  a  general  battle  in 
anticipation  of  the  arrival  of  reinforcements. 

On  the  6th  of  March  Cornwallis  moved  out  and 
attempted  to  surprise  Williams,  but  was  unsuc- 


292      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

cessful.  That  general  promptly  got  out  of  the 
way,  and  Cornwallis  did  not  pursue.  He  had 
struck  with  the  main  purpose  of  bringing  Greene 
into  action,  and  Greene  had  no  intention  of  ac- 
commodating him  at  that  time.  Within  a  week, 
however,  Greene  was  reinforced  by  Lawson's 
brigade  of  Virginia  militia,  Butler's  and  Eaton's 
brigades  of  North  Carolina  militia  and  four  hun- 
dred regulars,  all  of  whom  had  been  making  for 
his  camp  by  forced  marches.  This  gave  Greene  a 
total  fighting  strength  of  four  thousand  five  hun- 
dred men,  a  much  larger  army  than  that  of  Corn- 
wallis, though  it  was  far  inferior  in  training  and 
experience. 

Greene  now  determined  to  accept  the  battle 
which  Cornwallis  offered.  He  accordingly  gave 
orders  to  concentrate  on  the  I4th  of  March  at 
Guilford,  only  eight  miles  from  the  British. 

BATTLE  OF  GUILFORD  COURT  HOUSE. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  i$th,  Cornwallis 
set  out  for  Guilford  Court  House.  About  four 
miles  from  the  place  the  British  advance  under 
Tarleton  came  upon  the  American  advance  under 
Lee.  At  last  there  was  to  be  a  contest  of  strength 
between  the  two  rival  horsemen  under  equal  con- 
ditions and  with  equal  forces.  It  resulted  in  suc- 
cess for  Lee,  mainly  because  his  horses  were  of 
much  superior  strength.  Tarleton's  men  were 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      293 

weakly  mounted,  and  when  the  two  bodies  of 
horsemen  came  together  the  British  were  borne 
back  with  loss.  Tarleton  sounded  the  retreat,  and 
Lee  pursued  him  back  to  the  main  army,  when  he 
in  turn  retreated. 

In  the  meantime  Greene  was  deploying  for 
battle  on  a  wooded  hill  about  a  mile  from  the 
court  house  from  which  the  battle  takes  its  name. 
He  drew  up  in  three  lines.  The  first  was  com- 
posed of  the  North  Carolina  militia  and  riflemen 
under  Butler  and  Eaton.  They  were  posted  be- 
hind a  fence  with  a  cultivated  field  in  front  of 
them.  Woods  were  on  their  flank  and  rear,  and 
in  fact  all  about.  The  second  line  was  about  three 
hundred  yards  in  rear  and  was  composed  of  Vir- 
ginia militia  under  Generals  Stevens  and  Lawson. 
This  line  crossed  the  road  upon  which  Cornwallis 
was  advancing.  The  third  line  was  four  hundred 
yards  in  rear  of  the  second  and  was  composed  of 
Virginia  and  Maryland  regulars  under  General 
Huger  and  Colonel  Campbell.  There  were  a  few, 
a  very  few,  field-pieces  with  the  first  line  and  at 
Greene's  headquarters  near  the  court  house.  The 
cavalry  of  Lee  and  Washington  covered  the  flanks. 

The  British  advanced  in  three  columns.  Gen- 
eral Leslie  with  the  Hessians  and  Highlanders 
were  on  the  right ;  the  Royal  Artillery  and  Guards 
were  in  the  centre ;  and  Webster's  brigade  were 
on  the  left.  When  the  British  were  within  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the  first  line  of  Ameri- 


294      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

cans,  the  North  Carolina  militia  fell  into  confu- 
sion ;  many  of  them  threw  down  their  guns,  and 
they  retreated.  A  volley  from  the  British  regu- 
lars and  their  shouts  completed  the  confusion, 
and  the  first  line  went  back  in  a  panic.  General 
Stevens,  in  command  of  the  Virginia  militia,  was 
prepared  for  this,  however.  His  ranks  opened  to 
let  the  fugitives  pass,  and  his  men  stood  their 
ground.  After  some  hard  fighting  the  British 
charged  this  second  line  with  the  bayonet  and 
drove  it  also.  All  fell  back -now  to  the  third  line, 
on  which  Greene  counted  for  victory.  He  rode 
along  it  calling  on  the  regulars  to  stand  firm. 

Webster  charged  the  Maryland  regulars  and 
was  driven  back  by  them,  with  some  aid  from  the 
Virginians  and  Delaware  troops.  Stewart  was 
more  successful  in  charging  the  other  Maryland 
regiment,  and  his  Guards  and  Grenadiers  drove  it 
back  in  confusion.  Upon  this  the  first  turned 
from  Webster  and  charged  Stewart,  and  at  the 
same  time  Colonel  Washington's  cavalry  charged 
upon  them.  All  this  resulted  in  the  fiercest  kind 
of  a  fight.  Stewart  was  killed.  The  field-pieces 
were  taken  and  retaken,  and  finally  the  British 
gave  way  and  were  pursued  with  great  slaughter, 
until  their  own  artillery,  firing  grape-shot,  halted 
the  panting  Americans. 

Again  the  enemy  advanced  all  along  the  line. 
There  was  more  hard  fighting,  but  the  effect  of 
the  first  flight  of  the  Carolinians  had  been  too 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      295 

great.  The  Americans  began  to  give  way.  Greene 
saw  that  the  battle  was  lost  and  rather  than  risk 
the  total  destruction  of  his  army  ordered  a  retreat. 
This  was  made  in  good  order  with  the  loss  of  his 
artillery  only.  The  British,  in  fact,  were  too  badly 
used  up  to  pursue  him,  and  he  escaped  with  ease. 
Tarleton  started  to  pursue,  but  was  called  back. 
The  British  had  suffered  severely,  and  the  whole 
British  army  had  to  get  to  work  to  hunt  up  and 
care  for  the  wounded.  These  were  scattered 
throughout  the  woods;  many  could  not  be  found, 
and  their  cries  through  the  night  made  one  of  the 
most  horrible  impressions  on  the  survivors  that 
were  experienced  during  the  war. 

The  American  loss  as  reported  was  about  thir- 
teen hundred  killed  and  wounded,  though  it  was 
never  exactly  ascertained  and  was  probably  more. 
The  British  loss  was  about  one  hundred  killed  and 
five  hundred  wounded  and  missing.  This  loss  of 
the  British,  however,  was  much  more  disastrous 
to  his  army  than  the  greater  loss  of  the  Americans 
to  them.  The  British  army  was  smaller  and  the 
proportion  of  loss  all  the  greater  in  consequence. 
Moreover,  the  British  had  lost  many  officers  of 
importance,  and  they  were  tired  out.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  Cornwallis  considered  his  victory  almost 
as  ruinous  as  a  defeat.  And  Greene  after  all  had 
only  retreated  ten  miles  from  him.  Cornwallis, 
therefore,  had  no  thought  of  following  up  his 
doubtful  advantage.  He  had  had  all  the  experi- 


296      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

ence  he  wanted  at  following  a  retreating  Greene. 
On  the  contrary,  Cornwallis  felt  compelled  to  re 
treat  himself  to  a  point  where  he  could  be  better 
supplied.  He  set  out,  therefore,  for  the  Haw 
River,  leaving  his  seriously  wounded  behind  to  fall 
into  Greene's  hands.  Greene  followed,  and  his- 
tory has  to  record  the  strange  sight  of  a  defeated 
army  pursuing  a  victorious  one.  Greene  was 
brought  to  a  halt  at  Deep  River,  as  Cornwallis  had 
broken  down  the  bridges  across  it. 

He  was  now  compelled  to  part  with  his  militia. 
Their  time  had  expired.  He  had  to  stop  for  such 
a  length  of  time  to  collect  supplies  and  rebuild 
the  bridge  that  Cornwallis  was  far  on  the  way. 
He  made  a  sudden  change  in  his  plans,  there- 
fore, and  determined  to  march  into  South  Carolina 
and  prosecute  the  war  there.  This  would  compel 
Cornwallis  to  follow  him  or  sacrifice  his  many 
posts  in  that  state  and  Georgia.  On  the  5th  of 
April,  Greene  set  forth  on  the  road  to  Camden, 
the  post  where  Lord  Rawdon  had  his  head- 
quarters. 

When  Cornwallis  learned  of  this  move  of 
Greene's  army  it  was  too  late  to  render  any  assist- 
ance to  Rawdon.  His  force  was  now  reduced  to 
but  fourteen  hundred  men.  He  decided  there. 
fore  to  move  into  Virginia  and  form  a  junction 
with  a  force  acting  there,  with  General  Phillips  in 
command  and  with  Arnold  second  in  command. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  SITUATION  IN  VIRGINIA — GREENE  MOVES 
UPON  THE  BRITISH — THE  BATTLE  OF  EUTAW 
SPRINGS — CORNWALLIS  JOINS  ARNOLD — LA- 
FAYETTE FOLLOWS  CORNWALLIS — WASHING- 
TON'S CHANGE  OF  PLANS — CORNWALLIS  MOVES 
TO  YORKTOWN — HE  IS  BOTTLED  UP  THERE 

LAFAYETTE  had  been  sent  to  the  relief  of 
Greene.  Steuben  had  been  watching  Arnold  be- 
fore Phillips  came  into  command  of  the  British 
in  Virginia.  When  Cornwallis  turned  north 
therefore,  Lafayette  and  his  army  were  turned  to 
oppose  him,  together  with  the  Baron  Steuben's 
small  force  on  the  York  River.  Steuben  had  been 
defending  the  state  as  well  as  he  could  against  the 
marauds  of  the  traitor,  Arnold,  and  later  of  his 
superior,  Phillips. 

Greene  moved  to  the  hills  on  the  Santee  and 
remained  encamped  during  the  hot  months  of 
July  and  August.  But  Marion,  Lee,  Sumter  and 
Washington  (the  colonel)  overran  the  state  and 
harassed  the  British.  Greene  had  made  a  move 
against  Rawdon,  but  had  been  repulsed  at  the 

minor  engagement  of   Hobkirk's  Hill.     Rawdon 

297 


298      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

had  in  the  meantime  turned  over  his  command  to 
Stuart  and  proceeded  to  the  North  by  sea. 

On  the  22d  of  August,  Greene  moved  from 
the  healthy  cool  hills  on  the  Santee  against 
Stuart.  The  latter  lay  about  sixteen  miles  away 
from  him  ;  but  as  Greene  moved  Stuart  changed 
his  position  to  Eutaw  Springs,  where  he  was  re- 
inforced from  Charleston.  The  two  armies  met 
on  the  8th  of  September. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  EUTAW  SPRINGS. 

Greene  had  about  two  thousand  men,  the  Brit- 
ish about  three  hundred  more ;  but  Greene  was 
superior  in  cavalry.  Greene  advanced  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  in  two  columns,  which  later 
were  to  be  deployed  into  two  lines  of  battle,  that 
being  one  of  the  old-fashioned  methods  of  deploy- 
ment. General  Marion  commanded  the  first 
column,  which  was  composed  of  North  and  South 
Carolina  militia.  The  second  column  was  com- 
posed of  North  Carolina.  Virginia  and  Maryland 
regulars.  Lee's  cavalry  covered  the  right  flank, 
Henderson's  the  left.  Colonel  Washington's  dra- 
goons and  the  Delaware  regulars  formed  the 
reserve. 

Greene  deployed  into  line  of  battle  upon  reach- 
ing the  first  British  outpost,  which  was  soon  put 
to  flight.  The  two  lines  now  advanced,  the  road 
being  in  their  centre  and  on  it  the  field-pieces. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      299 

They  were  still  far  from  the  British  lines,  how- 
ever,  and  had  difficulty  in  keeping  their  forma- 
tions as  they  moved  through  the  woods.  Stuart 
had  thrown  forward  a  body  of  infantry  to  oppose 
their  advance  while  he  made  arrangements  for 
battle.  His  extreme  right  rested  on  Eutaw  Creek 
and  was  concealed  by  dense  thickets  on  the  banks 
of  the  stream.  The  left  was  on  the  Charleston 
road.  About  fifty  yards  in  rear  of  his  main  line 
there  was  a  brick  house  surrounded  by  a  palisaded 
garden  which  Stuart  intended  to  use  as  a  shelter. 
And  the  strength  of  this  miserable  brick  house 
saved  him  from  utter  defeat  and  ruin. 

The  Americans  drove  in  the  British  advance 
line  and  pressed  on.  The  militia  fought  with  the 
ardour  of  regulars,  and  the  battle  soon  raged  fiercely 
all  along  the  line.  Two  of  the  field-pieces  of  the 
Americans  were  dismounted  and  one  of  the  Brit- 
ish. Finally  the  militia  gave  way  and  retired, 
covered  by  the  flanking  cavalry.  The  Continentals 
led  by  Sumner  took  their  place  in  fine  style,  and 
the  British  also  brought  their  reserves  into  action. 
Sumner's  brigade  contained  a  number  of  recruits, 
however,  and  Greene  saw  signs  of  approaching 
demoralisation.  He  therefore  ordered  the  Mary- 
landers  under  Williams  to  sweep  the  field  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet.  They  did  so  with  great 
gallantry.  The  British  gave  way.  Lee  and  his 
cavalry  then  turned  their  flank  and  also  charged 
them  in  rear.  The  British  were  thrown  into  a 


3oo      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

panic;  Colonel  Washington  also  charged  them 
and  turned  the  panic  into  a  rout.  A  great  num- 
ber of  prisoners  were  taken. 

But  the  extreme  British  right  in  the  dense 
thickets  were  still  in  position  and  could  enfilade 
the  American  left.  Greene  ordered  Washington 
with  his  cavalry  and  Kirkwood  with  his  infantry 
to  dislodge  them.  Unfortunately  Colonel  Wash- 
ington,  in  his  ardour,  did  not  wait  for  the  infantry. 
He  dashed  forward  with  his  dragoons.  The 
thicket  could  not  be  penetrated  by  cavalry,  and  his 
force  was  roughly  handled.  His  horses  were  shot 
down,  his  men  killed  or  wounded  at  the  pleasure 
of  the  British.  He  himself,  too,  was  wounded 
and  would  have  been  ruthlessly  slain  but  for 
the  intervention  of  a  British  officer.  The  infantry, 
however,  succeeded  in  driving  the  British  from  the 
thickets,  whence  they  took  refuge  in  the  palisaded 
garden  of  the  brick  house.  Had  the  Americans 
now  pressed  home,  the  victory  would  have  been 
secure.  But  the  troops  broke  to  plunder  the 
British  camp.  Many  became  intoxicated  on  the 
liquors  found  there  and  refused  to  obey  their 
officers.  Soon  all  was  riot  and  disorder.  In  the 
meantime  the  enemy  rallied.  Fire  was  opened 
on  the  Americans  from  every  window  of  the  brick 
house  and  from  the  surrounding  woods.  Colonel 
Stuart  had  succeeded  in  rallying  his  men  and  in 
inducing  them  to  advance  again  to  the  attack. 
And  Greene,  in  this  emergency,  found  that  his 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      301 

ammunition  was  nearly  exhausted.  He  therefore 
withdrew,  leaving  a  strong  picket  on  the  field  of 
battle.  He  could  not  find  water  nearer  than  his 
previous  camp,  seven  miles  away,  however.  In 
the  night  the  enemy  retreated,  not  stopping  until 
they  reached  Monk's  Corner,  twenty-five  miles 
from  Charleston. 

This  was  the  last  affair  of  importance  in  the 
South.  We  must  now  return  to  the  army  of 
Cornwallis  and  see  how  he  fared. 

General  Phillips,  who  had  reinforced  Arnold  at 
Portsmouth,  Va.,  on  the  26th  of  March,  had  com- 
mand of  a  force  of  about  thirty-five  hundred  men. 
This  was  so  great  that  Baron  Steuben,  who  had 
been  opposing  Arnold,  had  to  hurriedly  withdraw 
into  the  interior. 

On  the  i6th  of  April  Phillips  advanced  up  the 
James  River  and  attacked  City  Point  and  Peters- 
burg. Throughout  the  surrounding  country  he 
and  Arnold  burned  and  destroyed  everything 
that  was  worth  attention.  Richmond  would  have 
fallen  into  their  hands  but  for  the  timely  arrival 
of  Lafayette,  whose  small  army  of  two  thousand 
men  had  been  diverted  from  the  relief  of  Greene, 
now  that  the  latter  had  moved  into  South  Car- 
olina. 

Cornwallis  notified  Phillips  that  he  would  join 
him  at  Petersburg,  and  Phillips  held  that  place, 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  his  comrade.  While  wait- 
ing, however,  Phillips  fell  ill  and  a  few  days  later 


302      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

died.  Arnold  then  commanded  until  Cornwallis 
arrived  on  the  2Oth  of  May.  Cornwallis  tried  to 
draw  Lafayette  into  battle,  but  the  young  French- 
man warily  drew  away  to  the  north  to  make  a 
junction  with  Wayne.  Cornwallis  tried  to  prevent 
the  junction  but  failed.  He  then  occupied  himself 
with  destroying  stores  and  raiding  the  private 
estates  of  the  Virginia  gentlemen.  Tarleton  soon 
mounted  his  command  on  race-horses  belonging 
to  the  latter  and  scoured  and  ravaged  the  country 
to  his  heart's  content. 

Lafayette,  having  formed  a  junction  not  only 
with  Wayne  but  also  with  the  Baron  Steuben, 
took  the  aggressive,  and  Cornwallis  found  himself 
less  anxious  for  an  engagement.  In  the  mean- 
time Washington  threatened  an  attack  on  New 
York,  and  Clinton  sent  to  Cornwallis  for  reinforce- 
ments. This  compelled  Cornwallis  to  retreat  to 
Portsmouth,  Lafayette  following.  On  the  retreat 
Cornwallis  turned  on  Wayne,  who  led  the  Amer- 
ican advance,  and  on  the  6th  of  July  he  gave  Mad 
Anthony  a  very  severe  handling.  But  Wayne 
fought  so  stubbornly  that"  Cornwallis  concluded  he 
was  followed  by  a  force  much  stronger  than  he 
was  and  failed  to  follow  up  an  advantage  that 
might  have  been  disastrous  to  the  American 
cause. 

Toward  the  end  of  July,  Washington  still 
threatening  New  York,  learned  that  a  French  fleet 
under  the  Count  de  Grasse  would  soon  be  in  the 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      303 

Chesapeake.  Lafayette  also  wrote  that  should  a 
fleet  come  there  he  felt  sure  that  the  army  of 
Cornwallis  could  be  captured.  This  changed 
Washington's  plan  of  campaign.  He  determined 
to  take  advantage  of  the  British  idea  that  he  was 
to  attack  them  in  New  York,  make  a  quick  march 
through  the  back  country  and  join  Lafayette. 
Then,  with  the  French  fleet,  to  prevent  the  escape 
of  Cornwallis  by  sea,  to  hem  him  in  by  land  and* 
capture  him. 

Perfect  secrecy  was  maintained  concerning  the 
plan ;  preparations  were  made  as  though  New 
York  were  the  objective.  In  fact  it  was  not  until 
the  2 1st  of  August,  when  he  was  well  on  his  way, 
that  Washington  even  wrote  to  Lafayette,  in  con- 
fidence, that  he  intended  to  join  him.  The  French 
under  De  Rochambeau  also  joined  in  the  rapid 
march  toward  the  unsuspecting  Cornwallis,  and 
the  Count  de  Barras  decided  to  join  De  Grasse 
when  he  arrived  with  the  French  squadron  under 
his  command.  The  whole  operation  was  a  mas- 
terly military  movement.  It  completely  deceived 
Clinton,  and  when  that  general  realised  what  had 
taken  place  under  his  very  nose  it  was  too  late  to 
aid  the  imperilled  Cornwallis.  He  did  the  best 
he  could  under  the  circumstances,  by  sending 
Arnold  into  Connecticut  to  ravage  his  native  state. 
And  if  anything  could  have  added  to  the  odium 
of  the  name  of  Arnold  it  was  this  expedition.  But 
it  did  not  turn  Washington  aside  for  one  moment 


3o4      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

from  the  campaign  he  had  planned.  On  the  3Oth 
of  August,  Washington  reached  Philadelphia. 
For  once  in  the  cfareer  of  the  Father  of  his 
Country  his  plans  were  aided  by  events.  On  the 
25th  of  August,  Colonel  John  Laurens  arrived  at 
Boston  from  France  with  two  and  a  half  million 
livres  in  sadly  needed  cash,  part  of  six  million 
livres  obtained  from  the  French  king. 

Cornwallis,  in  the  meantime,  had  moved  to 
Yorktown,  where  he  set  about  establishing  a  per- 
manent post  in  obedience  to  orders.  Clinton  in- 
tended the  place  as  a  base  from  which  he  pro- 
posed to  operate  later  in  the  year.  And  Corn- 
wallis felt  so  secure  and  suspected  so  little  of  the 
real  design  of  the  Americans,  that  he  offered  to 
detach  a  thousand  men,  or  even  more,  to  help 
defend  New  York  from  the  threatened  attack  by 
the  American  and  French  armies. 

Lafayette,  in  obedience  to  instructions  from 
Washington,  succeeded  in  raising  the  militia  of 
the  neighbourhood  and  forming  a  force  sufficient 
to  prevent  Cornwallis  from  retreating  from  York- 
town  on  the  appearance  of  the  French  fleet.  And 
he  made  ready  to  cooperate  with  the  troops  that 
were  to  be  landed  from  the  French  fleet.  In  this 
way  Cornwallis  was  quietly  bottled  up.  And  he 
did  not  suspect  his  danger  until  the  French  fleet 
arrived  within  the  Capes  of  Delaware  on  the  28th 
of  August.  He  looked  about  for  an  avenue  of 
escape.  But  the  York  and  the  James  rivers  were 


PORTRAIT  OF  WASHINGTON.— Page  304 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      305 

filled  with  the  armed  vessels  of  the  French.  And 
at  Williamsburg  Lafayette  was  so  strongly  posted 
that  Cornwallis  did  not  dare  attack  him.  In  this 
predicament  Cornwallis  set  about  strengthening 
his  fortifications  and  erecting  new  ones,  at  the 
same  time  sending  expresses  to  Clinton  notifying 
the  latter  of  his  extremity. 

The  only  effort  made  to  help  Cornwallis  was  by 
Admiral  Graves,  with  a  British  fleet  of  twenty 
ships.  The  Count  de  Grasse  put  out  to  meet  him 
with  an  equal  force.  The  sea-fight  that  ensued 
was  of  equal  success  to  both.  Each  claimed  a 
victory,  and  neither  was  anxious  to  renew  the 
engagement.  For  four  days  they  remained  watch- 
ing each  other.  Then  the  arrival  of  De  Barras 
with  the  other  French  fleet  made  the  contest  so 
unequal  that  the  Englishman  bore  away  for  New 
York. 

20 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  SIEGE  OF  YORKTOWN — STORMING  OF  THE 
REDOUBTS — SURRENDER  OF  CORNWALLIS— 
END  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

ON  the  25th  of  September  the  allied  armies  and 
the  fleets  were  at  last  concentrated  around  York- 
town.  Thirteen  redoubts  and  batteries  connected 
by  intrenchments  were  circled  around  the  land 
side  of  the  town,  and  there  were  batteries  along 
the  front  on  the  York  River.  On  either  side  of 
the  town  there  were  deep  creeks  emptying  into 
the  York,  and  on  each  of  them,  at  a  point  about 
half  a  mile  from  each  other,  the  enemy  had  erected 
extensive  outworks,  redoubts  faced  by  abatis,  field 
works  and  obstacles.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
river  Gloucester  Point  was  fortified  and  it,  with 
some  English  ships,  defended  the  passage  of  the 
stream.  Gloucester  Point  was  defended  by  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Dundas  with  about  seven  hundred 
men.  Just  as  the  allies  appeared  before  the  town 
Cornwallis  heard  from  Clinton  that  Admiral  Digby 
with  a  fleet  and  reinforcements  would  sail  to  rein- 
force him  on  the  5th  of  October.  Signals  were 
arranged  between  the  two  generals,  by  which  the 

English  fleet  would  know  whether  Cornwallis  still 
306 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      307 

held  out  and  whether  he  still  held  Gloucester 
Point.  Before  the  works  the  allies  took  post,  the 
Americans  on  the  right  and  the  French  on  the 
left.  Cornwallis  abandoned  his  outer  defences  and 
withdrew  into  the  town.  The  allies  immediately 
seized  the  abandoned  works  and  used  them  as  a 
cover  while  they  threw  up  intrenchments  in  front 
of  the  town.  By  the  28th  of  September  the  allies 
were  within  two  miles  of  the  town  proper,  and 
General  de  Choisy,  with  Lauzun's  French  legion 
and  Weedon's  brigade,  was  pushed  across  the 
York  River  to  attack  Gloucester  Point.  By  the 
1st  of  October  the  allied  armies  had  constructed  a 
complete  circle  of  intrenchments  around  Yorktown 
on  the  land  side,  each  end  resting  on  the  river. 

On  the  2d  Tarleton  and  his  legion  made  a 
movement  from  Gloucester  to  forage  the  country 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  the  besieging 
army  being  in  serious  straits  for  forage.  He  suc- 
ceeded, but  only  after  being  roughly  handled  by 
Lauzun  with  his  French  hussars  and  lancers. 
About  a  dozen  officers  and  men  were  lost  on 
either  side,  and  Tarleton  was  nearly  captured. 
It  was  his  last  effort  on  American  soil.  On  the 
following  day  General  Choisy  received  a  rein- 
forcement of  marines  from  the  French  fleet  and 
cut  off  all  communication  from  Gloucester. 

On  the  night  of  the  6th  of  October,  1781,  the 
first  parallel  was  opened  before  Yorktown.  It 
was  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the  English  in- 


3o8      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

trenchments  and  redoubts.  General  Lincoln  had 
the  honour  of  opening  the  parallel.  He  had  once 
been  besieged  himself.  And  Governor  Nelson 
pointed  out  his  own  handsome  residence  as  the 
most  effective  part  of  the  town  to  be  shelled.  It 
was  being  used  by  Cornwallis  for  a  headquarters 
building.  He  was  promptly  driven  out.  A  terrific 
cannonade  was  now  exchanged  day  and  night 
between  the  opposing  forces. 

On  the  nth  the  second  parallel  was  opened  by 
the  Baron  Steuben  with  his  division.  The  work- 
men, however,  were  very  much  annoyed  by  the 
fire  from  two  British  redoubts,  one  on  either  flank, 
about  three  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  main 
works  of  the  besieged.  It  was  resolved  to  storm 
them  on  the  night  of  the  I4th.  One  was  carried 
by  Lafayette  with  a  detachment  of  Americans, 
and  the  other  by  the  Baron  de  Viomel  with  a 
French  detachment.  At  the  head  of  the  latter 
was  the  regiment  of  Gatinais,  of  which  De  Rocham- 
beau  had  been  colonel.  Hamilton,  no  longe'r  a 
member  of  Washington's  staff  on  account  of  a 
lack  of  respect  shown  to  the  commander-in-chief 
on  a  previous  occasion,  had  the  honour  of  leading 
Lafayette's  column.  Both  redoubts  were  taken 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  The  French  had  far 
the  stronger  redoubt  to  take  and  suffered  more 
severely  than  the  Americans.  The  redoubts  were 
immediately  included  in  the  second  parallel. 

Cornwallis  was  now 'in  despair.     On  the  i6th 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      309 

he  made  a  furious  attack  on  two  of  the  most  ad- 
vanced batteries,  and  took  and  held  them  long 
enough  to  spike  the  guns.  But  the  work  was  done 
too  hastily,  and  the  spikes  were  easily  removed. 

The  English  commander  now  determined  to  try 
to  escape.  His  plan  was  to  cross  the  river  to 
Gloucester,  surprise  Choisy,  break  through  and 
force  his  way  through  Maryland,  Pennsylvania 
and  the  Jerseys,  and  join  Clinton  in  New  York. 
It  was  a  mad  scheme,  but  he  was  in  desperate 
circumstances.  The  only  other  alternative  seemed 
to  be  surrender.  His  works  had  almost  been  bat- 
tered to  pieces,  and  he  had  hardly  a  gun  left  to 
bear  on  the  allied  front.  He  managed  to  get  one 
division  of  his  army  across.  But  he  experienced 
so  many  delays  that  he  was  unable  to  cross  the 
other  and  had  to  recross  the  first  division  under 
the  fire  of  the  batteries. 

His  hopes  were  now  at  an  end.  He  was  too 
humane  to  expose  his  garrison  to  an  assault  which 
must  be  successful  and  bloody.  He  therefore 
ordered  a  parley  beaten  on  the  morning  of  the 
1 7th.  He  asked  for  terms.  After  an  exchange 
of  letters  they  were  at  length  given  by  Washing- 
ton and  accepted  by  Cornwallis.  On  the  iQth 
the  garrison  surrendered. 

General  Lincoln  was  appointed  to  receive  the 
surrender  of  the  British  commander,  for  the  same 
reason  that  he  was  appointed  to  open  the  first 
parallel.  But  Cornwallis  pleaded  an  indisposition 


3io      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

and  was  represented  by  General  O'Hara.  The 
British  army  passed  through  the  lines  of  the 
American  and  French  armies,  drawn  up  on  either 
side  of  the  road  to  receive  them,  and  were  con- 
ducted to  a  field  by  General  Lincoln,  where  they 
deposited  their  arms.  Afterwards  they  were  con- 
ducted back  to  Yorktown,  where  they  were  to  be 
held  as  prisoners  of  war;  although  the  officers 
were  to  be  paroled  and  permitted  to  go  either  to 
any  port  of  Europe  or  to  any  place  in  America 
held  by  British  troops. 

On  the  very  day  that  Cornwallis  surrendered 
the  tardy  fleet  that  was  to  come  to  his  aid  from 
New  York  sailed  from  that  city.  It  consisted  of 
thirty-five  ships  and  carried  reinforcements  of 
seven  thousand  of  Clinton's  best  troops.  But  it 
did  not  arrive  until  the  24th  of  the  month.  It 
learned  of  the  surrender  and  returned  in  mortifica- 
tion to  New  York. 

Throughout  America  the  news  was  received 
with  transports  of  joy.  Congress  voted  its  thanks 
to  the  commanders  and  officers  of  the  allied 
armies,  and  made  presents  of  colours  and  trophies 
to  Washington,  De  Rochambeau  and  De  Grasse. 
It  ordered  the  erection  of  a  marble  column  com- 
memorative of  the  alliance  of  America  and  France, 
and  appointed  a  day  for  general  thanksgiving  and 
prayer. 

Exactly  opposite  was  the  feeling  of  the  British 
both  in  New  York  and  in  England.  Lord  North, 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      311 

the  British  prime  minister,  when  notified  of  the 
news,  exclaimed,  "  It  is  all  over."  And,  practi- 
cally, so  it  was.  It  was  not  until  the  2$th  of 
November,  1783,  however,  that  the  British  evacu- 
ated New  York.  On  the  same  day  it  was  entered 
by  the  American  troops  marching  down  from 
Harlem  to  the  Bowery  as  the  British  moved  out. 

It  was  a  vastly  different  army  that  entered  from 
that  which  left,  you  may  be  sure.  The  Americans 
were  as  ragged  and  forlorn-looking  as  the  British 
were  well  clad  and  smart.  But  the  Americans 
were  victors  and  the  British  vanquished.  And 
the  happy  inhabitants  of  New  York  were  just  as 
proud  of  their  unkempt  victors  as  the  latter  could 
have  desired.  Banquets  were  given,  and  the  city 
was  for  some  time  in  a  holiday  state,  with  fire- 
works, processions  and  general  rejoicing. 

Savannah  was  evacuated  July  i  ith  and  Charles- 
ton, December  I4th,  1782. 

On  the  4th  of  December  Washington  took 
leave  of- the  officers  who  had  struggled  so  long 
and  so  nobly.  He  then  proceeded  to  Annapolis, 
hailed  everywhere  by  the  people  as  the  saviour  of 
his  country.  Congress  had  been  removed  to 
Annapolis,  and  there,  on  the  23d  of  December, 
Washington  resigned  his  commission  to  that  body. 
He  reached  his  home  at  Mt.  Vernon  on  Christmas 
Eve,  hardly  appreciating  the  extent  of  the  fame 
he  had  won. 

His  leave-taking  of  his  officers  and  the  resigna- 


3i2      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

tion    of   his  commission  were  two  of   the   most 
affecting  scenes  in  the  history  of  our  country. 

The  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army  itself 
gradually  dispersed  to  their  homes  and  returned 
to  occupations  they  had  left  so  many  years  before. 
But  few  of  them  were  paid  in  money  for  their 
hardships,  exertions  and  dangers.  But  their  name 
and  fame  will  be  for  ever  glorified  by  the  most 
wonderful  nation  civilisation  has  ever  produced. 
To-day  it  stretches  across  a  hemisphere  and  con- 
tains eighty  million  souls  and  perhaps  more.  In 
another  century — but  the  grandchildren  of  the 
boys  and  girls  who  read  this  book  will  know  more 
about  that  than  the  author. 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

» 

THE  NAVAL  HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

THE  Heroes  of  Our  Revolution  were  not  all 
confined  to  the  army.  We  had  a  navy  that  was 
small,  indeed,  but  which  has  left  us  a  record  that 
is  as  brilliant  as  it  is  brief. 

As  early  as  1776  the  Americans  had  twenty- 
six  vessels,  great  and  small.  And  during  the 
first  two  years  of  the  war  they  captured  over  eight 
hundred  English  merchantmen,  for  they  were 
mostly  privateers  fitted  out  to  prey  on  the  enemy's 
commerce.  They  did  it  so  well  that  they  all  but 
drove  the  English  flag  from  the  seas. 

Ezekiel  Hopkins  was  the  first  commander-in- 
chief  of  our  naval  forces,  but  he  got  into  trouble 
on  his  first  cruise  and  was  dismissed  from  the 
service.  The  command  of  the  navy  then  devolved 
on  Captain  Nicholson.  He  was  an  able  officer, 
but  in  some  ways  unfortunate.  He  had  command 
of  the  Virginia  of  twenty-eight  guns,  but  was 
blockaded,  and  he  and  his  crew  joined  Washing- 
ton's army  and  fought  with  it  at  Trenton.  He  was 
afterwards  put  in  command  of  the  Trumbull,  with 
which  he  fought  the  Watt,  a  vessel  of  superior 
size  and  strength.  For  two  hours  and  a  half  he 


3i4      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

lay  abeam  of  her  within  musket-shot  and  poured 
in  broadside  upon  broadside.  His  spars  were 
shot  away  though,  and  he  was  unable  to  capture 
the  Watt.  He  himself  and  his  boat  were  captured 
in  1781  after  he  had  fought  bravely  against  the 
most  desperate  odds. 

Captain  Barry  commanded  the  Raleigh  of  thirty- 
two  guns.  In  this  boat  he  was  attacked  by  a 
whole  fleet  of  British  vessels.  He  tried  to  escape 
but  failed.  Then  he  closed  with  the  first  of  the 
enemy's  boats  and  tried  to  board  her.  In  this  he 
was  unsuccessful  also.  Then  he  ran  his  ship 
ashore  and  fled  with  his  crew  to  a  barren  and 
rocky  island,  making  good  his  escape.  In  1781 
he  commanded  the  Alliance,  and  with  it  he 
attacked  two  English  vessels.  He  was  wounded 
and  carried  below.  While  his  wound  was  being 
dressed  one  of  his  officers  asked  him  if  they  should 
surrender.  "  No,"  he  answered  in  great  anger. 
"  If  this  ship  cannot  be  fought  without  me  I  will 
be  carried  on  deck."  And  carried  on  deck  he 
was.  This  so  inspired  his  men  that  they  turned 
to  and  captured  both  the  English  vessels.  The 
next  year  in  the  Luzerne  he  made  a  wonderful 
escape  from  a  whole  British  squadron  with  that 
vessel  and  a  consort. 

Joshua  Barney  was  another  brave  and  success- 
ful naval  commander,  whose  chief  achievement 
was  capturing  the  Monk,  a  vessel  much  larger  than 
the  Hyder  Ally,  which  he  commanded. 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      315 

Then  there  were  Robinson,  Williams,  Wickes, 
Alexander,  Manly,  Biddle,  Harding,  Truxton, 
Murray,  Young,  Hazelwood,  and  Dale.  They 
were  all  celebrated  for  the  terror  they  spread 
among  British  merchantmen,  and  for  their  wonder- 
ful seamanship  which  enabled  them  to  overhaul 
and  capture  England's  merchant  ships  and  keep 
away  from  her  powerful  navy. 

But  the  most  celebrated  naval  commander  of 
the  war,  and  one  of  the  most  celebrated  sailors  in 
the  history  of  the  world  was  Paul  Jones.  He  is 
the  bright  particular  star  of  the  American  Navy 
during  the  Revolution. 

His  real  name  was  John  Paul,  and  he  was  born 
on  July  6th,  1747,  in  Kirkbean,  Leith,  Scotland. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  poor  gardener  on  the  estate 
of  Arbigland.  He  added  the  name  Jones  to  his 
own,  probably  because  he  was  fighting  against  his 
own  countrymen.  He  made  his  assumed  name 
so  well  known,  both  at  the  time  and  in  history, 
that  the  name  of  John  Paul  would  be  unknown 
to-day  were  not  Jones  added  to  it. 

Captain  Wickes,  of  the  cruiser  Reprisal,  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  West  Indies  early  in  the 
war  and  late  in  1776  sailed  for  France.  He  made 
many  prizes  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1777  started  on  a  cruise  around  Ireland, 
attended  by  the  Lexington  and  the  Dolphin.  The 
three  swept  the  Irish  and  English  seas  of  their 
merchantmen.  On  their  return  to  America,  how- 


3i6      HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION 

ever,  the  Lexington  was  captured,  and  \\\&  Reprisal 
was  lost  on  the  coast  of  Newfoundland,  with 
Wickes  and  all  of  his  crew. 

It  was  John  Paul  Jones  who  carried  the  war  ac- 
tually into  Great  Britain  itself.  He  followed  in 
the  track  of  the  brave  but  unfortunate  Wickes. 
In  the  spring  of  1778  he  sailed  in  the  Ranger 
from  France  to  the  English  coast.  He  entered 
the  harbour  of  Whitehaven,  took  the  fortifications 
and  fired  the  shipping.  In  the  spring  of  1779  he 
sailed  with  a  squadron  of  seven  vessels  from  a 
French  port,  and  cruised  along  the  Scotch  coast 
with  great  success.  From  there  he  proceeded  to 
the  east  coast  of  England,,  where  he  encountered 
a  fleet  of  merchantmen  under  convoy  of  two  Brit- 
ish war  vessels.  Jones,  in  the  Bonhomme Richard, 
engaged  the  larger  of  the  British  vessels,  the  Ser- 
apis.  The  other,  the  Countess  of  Scarborough, 
was  engaged  by  Captain  Cottineau,  in  the  Pallas. 
The  action  that  followed  was  terrible.  Jones  was 
fired  upon  by  another  of  his  own  ships,  either 
through  the  treachery  or  incompetency  of  its  cap- 
tain. But  the  Serapis  surrendered,  as  did  the 
Countess  of  Scarborough.  Sixteen  hours  after  the 
surrender  the  Bonhomme  Richard  went  down. 

Untold  damage  was  done  to  British  ship- 
ping all  over  the  world  by  American  privateers. 
From  the  very  nature  of  things  America  could 
maintain  no  real  navy.  But  these  fast-sailing  pri- 
vateers became  terrors  of  the  seas.  They  could 


HEROES  OF  OUR  REVOLUTION      317 

seldom  be  caught  by  the  British  naval  vessels,  and 
they  made  the  new  flag  of  the  United  States 
known  wherever  boats  were  sailed.  Indeed,  it 
was  on  account  of  the  navy  that  the  flag  was  first 
adopted. 

From  this  small  beginning  one  of  the  greatest 
navies  of  the  world  has  been  evolved.  At  the  end 
of  our  civil  war  no  navy  on  earth  compared  with 
it.  And  in  a  few  years  from  this  writing  it  is 
again  to  be  at  least  the  equal  of  almost  any.  Long 
may  it  carry  to  victory  the  red  and  white  stripes 
and  the  ever  growing  blue  field  of  stars. 

THE  END. 


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